Sunlight
by Shyala
Summary: Syd/Vaughn after they've confessed their attraction.. Chap. 17 is up. Enjoy and please R/R!! I love hearing from you :)
1. Decision

Moscow had been a narrow escape. For once Sydney would've liked an assignment like Positano. Just walk in and have a clock fixed, and walk out. Of course, Ana Espinosa showing up unexpectedly had ruined an almost easy assignment. Even that was better than this assignment. Being shot while hanging on a rope was no picnic. At least it was over and done.  
  
Of course, the assignment was nothing compared to awkwardness that she would have to face when she would brief Vaughn. She smiled at the thought of him, and then looked over at Dixon to see if he noticed. Dixon was fast asleep. It always amazed Sydney how Dixon could sleep on a moving plane. In this instance, she was glad for the reprieve. She let her mind wander to her last conversation with Vaughn.  
  
After the news about her mother, and her announcement to leave SD-6, she had screwed up her nerve and asked Vaughn out to a hockey game. She couldn't believe she had been that bold. She had held her breath waiting for him to answer too, but had been disappointed when he turned the discussion back to business.  
  
But the last time they talked…… Oh how he made her heart skip a beat. He had wanted to be with her too. He was interested in her the same way she was; but he was too dedicated to his job. Maybe that's why she was so attracted to him. He was as dedicated to bringing down SD-6 as she was. Maybe more.  
  
Sydney sighed lightly and tried to get more comfortable in her seat. After all the time, she'd spent on a plane, you'd think she'd be used to these damn chairs.  
  
A few more hours……..  
  
  
  
Vaughn checked his watch for the millionth time in ten minutes. He couldn't concentrate on the work on his desk. They were all a big blur to him when Sydney was on assignment. He could never concentrate. Weiss was always telling him to be not so obvious about his agent. With Haldaki on the warpath to get him out of the agency, he should be more careful.  
  
She'll be here in the morning…..  
  
He should go home and try to get some sleep. It was almost midnight, and he had stayed behind to try to catch up on some files. But he hadn't gone through even one. He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples slightly, sighing softly.  
  
That was unbelievably stupid of him to tell Sydney how felt. To look at you directly. God, her sweet smile, and those dimples, almost had him pouring his heart out to her. How he felt when she thought he was married, or the time, she apologized for his father. That time he had been able to hold himself together.  
  
Vaughn sighed again. It's better that she knows, he thought to himself. He couldn't bare to hurt her. He wanted to be with her. Only if the circumstances were different.  
  
He looked at his watch again.  
  
She'll be here soon. Please God! Let her be here in the morning.  
  
  
  
When Sydney opened the door to her house, it was almost noon. She had gone straight to Credit Dauphine from the airport. Then she had spent the next three hours preparing her report and being grilled by Sloane. When he was satisfied, she had told him that she was going to take the next two days off. She had given him some vague explanations about having some assignments.  
  
She walked to her room, and put her bags away, before jumping in the shower. Half an hour later, she pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. She fidgeted with her hair a little before pulling into a ponytail.  
  
Sydney took a deep breath and exhaled out, "Time to call Vaughn".  
  
  
  
Vaughn was a nervous wreck by the time Sydney called him. Weiss had stuck his head in the office twice to tell him to calm down. She was at least two hours late, by his calculations. He exhaled hard when he got her call.  
  
She was alive. And, she was here.  
  
He closed his eyes for a moment, with her breathing in his ear. He could almost see her on the other end. He cradled the phone closer to his ear, while he told her to meet him at the warehouse in half an hour.  
  
Maybe he'll swing by that Deli on the corner and pick some Pastrami sandwiches before he headed to the warehouse, he thought to himself. Why not? I can be casual with her in the warehouse, he smiled to himself.  
  
It's lunchtime, and it's only a couple of sandwiches.  
  
He smiled to himself as he walked out of his office, whistling. He didn't notice all the curious looks he was getting as he walked down the hall.  
  
  
  
When Vaughn reached the warehouse, she was already there. He hurried over to open the gate and let her in.  
  
"Sorry. I got hungry on the way," he held the bag with the sandwiches. "I was waiting for your call."  
  
"You were worried about me?" she said casually. Duh, Syd. You weren't going to ask.  
  
"After the way you took down Cole, Nah," he smiled at her while unloading the content of his bag. One pastrami sandwich, one roast beef, a bottle of water and a large container of Slusho. She smiled at the sight of the Slusho.  
  
"That's not for me, is it? Blue is not my color"  
  
He smiled at her comments. "I bought you some lunch. Didn't know if you had a chance to eat before…" he trailed off as he looked up. Her dimples were back in her cheeks. He cleared his throat, and dropped his eyes to the food. He grabbed half his sandwich, and pushed the other towards her. "Maybe we should get started."  
  
"Oh right. We should," she said, and Vaughn cursed himself. The dimples were gone.  
  
Sydney talked for the next half-hour, while Vaughn listened intently, pacing back and forth. Sydney had polished off her food, and grabbed his half of the sandwich as well.  
  
I am having lunch with Sydney Bristow, he thought. He would've liked it to be outside, in a park, with a blanket spread on the ground and sunlight highlighting her hair. Not in this dull and dank warehouse with a light bulb overhead. But, he was having lunch with Sydney Bristow. He smiled slightly.  
  
He wished he hadn't offered her his half of the sandwich when he noticed that she was rolling her shoulders around to work out the stiffness. The sandwich would've given me something to hold on to, he thought ruefully, looking down at his hands. He put his hands in his pockets and leaned against the table.  
  
"So K-Directorate's new boss is willing to play with The Man," Vaughn said. "Interesting."  
  
"Well, he didn't have much of a choice."  
  
"Yeah. Are you… you feeling alright? Do you need to see a doctor about your shoulder?"  
  
"No, I'll be alright. It's just a little bruised," she smiled at him. But he wasn't looking at her. She frowned slightly. "Vaughn, we're not outside. You can look at me here, in this warehouse."  
  
"Yeah," he whispered slightly. He looked up at her and smiled slightly. "Syd, I don't regret what I said. I am a little concerned that it might change our focus. We can't afford to lose out head right now. Hockey can wait Syd. This.. what we do… can't," he looked at her imploringly. "Until SD-6 is just a memory, we have to be careful. YOU have to careful."  
  
"Yeah.. You're right," Sydney answered a little stiffly. She got up from her chair. "I've got to go. I haven't slept in like…forever," she smiled briefly.  
  
Vaughn touched her arm slightly. She turned around to look at him. "I was a little nervous about seeing you again..after the talk. You know," he said. "I thought it would be uncomfortable."  
  
"Yeah, me too," she smiled at him to let him know she understood. "I'm going to go now."  
  
"Ok. Sweet dreams then."  
  
Sydney walked out the gate, and then turned around. "I like roastbeef sandwiches. Thanks for lunch"  
  
Vaughn smiled slightly, and said "Your welcome."  
  
Once she was out of his sight, he sat back down on the chair that Sydney had occupied minutes ago, and dropped his head in to his hands, and exhaled loudly.  
  
Well, that went well, he muttered to himself. Great going, Vaughn.  
  
  
  
The lunch had been a total surprise to Sydney. She had come to the warehouse expecting this meeting to be awkward. Vaughn had somehow made it a little easier with the food. And, she had been hungry. Though she was upset a little that he wouldn't look at her in the warehouse, he had made her feel better afterwards.  
  
He feeds me and he worries about me, she thought. That comment about the doctor had been a giveaway. He had also had been pointedly referring to her to be careful. She sighed slightly, and leaned back her seat.  
  
Since she told Danny the truth, everything has been going wrong for her. Finding out that she worked for the enemy, finding about her parents, the stress of the job itself. She wasn't sure she could've handled it all if it weren't for Vaughn. He had been supportive and understanding.  
  
Sure, she had Will and Francie; but telling the truth about what she does would've endangered their life. She wished she could talk to Francie though. It would be so sweet to gossip and giggle like old times over a guy. She would really love to tell Francie about Vaughn.  
  
Francie would like Vaughn. If only I could talk to her about him… 


	2. Confession

*** Chapter 2 ****  
  
Vaughn typed away furiously on his keyboard, trying to finish up the report on the latest intel Sydney had provided. His mind was racing with thoughts, as he tried to focus on the task at hand. His errant mind, however, kept wandering to the meeting with Sydney. She had been hurt by what he said though it needed to be said. He had felt like a bastard for ruining the one place, and hopefully the person, she felt safe.  
  
He had agonized over not accepting, or even acknowledging, her invitation. But telling her that he wanted to be a part of her personal life …. That definitely doesn't fall under the rules and regulations of handler and agent. Barnett and Haladki would both have a field day if they knew.  
  
He had to admit that they had a point. He was clearly too attached to Sydney Bristow. His feelings could get her killed. It could get them both killed, if they are not careful. Vaughn stopped typing the report, and lightly ran his hands over his eyes.  
  
He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Sydney could knock his breath away even in a pair of jeans and old T-shirt, with her hair pulled back into ponytail. While she talked away about her mission in Moscow, and what she had learned, he was watching her. It may not have seemed that way to her. He was aware of her no matter where they were. Always. The way she paused to take a deep breath before launching on with her story or the way her hand would brush away a stray strand of hair. She was graceful in the way she moved, but could be deadly when she wanted to be.  
  
"Hey," a familiar voice interrupted his reverie. Weiss was leaning over the desk, waving his hand over his face.  
  
"I almost checked for a pulse. What are you doing?"  
  
"Just resting my eyes. Haven't got much sleep," Vaughn covered sheepishly. "What's up?"  
  
"Oh, I just wanted to know how the meeting with Sydney went. I don't know man. You look worse than you did last night. Didn't think that was possible after a visit with Sydney."  
  
"The briefing was fine. I am just finishing up a report on what Sydney had for us. I'll send you a copy once I'm done," Vaughn tried to dismiss Weiss out of his office, to no avail. Weiss sat down across from him, and looked at him knowingly.  
  
"You're not talking to Barnett or Haladki. So, spill already, or do I have to get you drunk tonight?"  
  
Vaughn looked at him thoughtfully for a long while. Eric Weiss is the only person in this place who didn't criticize him too much about his relationship with Sydney. He had even backed him up on his mission at SD- 6. If it weren't for Weiss, he'd probably be dead. But did he really want to tell him about Sydney asking him out? Did he want him to know that he wanted so badly to accept?  
  
"Can you get the door, please?" Vaughn asked. Weiss shot him a look. But he got up and closed the door anyway.  
  
"What's with the cloak and dagger stuff?"  
  
"I need you to listen for a minute without interrupting me. When Sydney told me that she wanted to quit SD-6… she also asked me out to a hockey game," Vaughn rushed on. Weiss whistled softly.  
  
"You didn't accept, did you? You're not going on a date with your agent, right?" quipped Weiss.  
  
"No, I didn't, and I'm not. But I told her that I wanted to.. be a part of her life, and I wasn't talking about as her handler," he said cautiously, studying Weiss' face intently.  
  
"I'm not surprised," Weiss said. "When you told me that you were worried about Sydney because of that other spy, I knew you were attracted to her. She's a beautiful woman. I'd be thrilled too, if I found out that she was attracted to me."  
  
Should he confess that he's more than attracted to her, Vaughn thought. But before he could, Weiss continued on.  
  
"But you have to be careful. To get involved with your agent could be dangerous. It could get you both killed, because you won't be able to do your job where Sydney is concerned. You won't be objective. So, best put your romantic feelings on the back burner for now, my friend."  
  
Vaughn looked thoughtfully at Weiss.  
  
  
  
The sound of the front door opening woke Sydney up. Then she heard Francie's familiar voice calling out to her. "In here," she answered. "What time is it?"  
  
"It's almost 7:30. I had to stay back at work for a bit. Did I wake you up?" Francie shot out questions as she walked into the bedroom.  
  
Sydney sat up on her bed, and turned on the lamp on her nightstand. "Yeah, kind of. But I'm glad you did. I won't be able to sleep tonight," she answered back. Good, Francie was home, she thought to herself.  
  
I'm gonna talk to her about Vaughn.  
  
"What time did you get in?"  
  
"The flight was delayed, and I didn't get in till noon." She hated lying to her friend. In the beginning, it had bothered her a lot. Now the lie rolled off her tongue, though her heart still complained.  
  
"Why don't you come into the kitchen, and we'll fix something for dinner?" Francie suggested. Sydney followed her.  
  
They talked about their day while working side by side. Francie went into great details about her annoying customers, and Sydney listened half heartedly, making appropriate comments from time to time. Her mind was lingering on the conversation she had with Vaughn in the warehouse. She felt sorry for snapping at him, but it must've been awkward for him to see her after revealing how he felt about her too.  
  
She smiled as the memory floated into her mind. The words he said, the way he said them, at Griffith Park. He had even braved a look at her, to emphasize he meant it. Who would've thought under that cool demeanor was such a sensitive man.  
  
"Charlie came to my work place today," Francie blurted out. "Syd, did you hear me?"  
  
"Oh what? What.. what did he say?" she quickly answered.  
  
"He wanted to talk about what happened. Work things out somehow."  
  
"Do you want to work it out?" Sydney probed cautiously.  
  
"No.. yes.. I don't know," moaned Francie. "This thing with Rachel, I was willing to understand. You know.. he was nervous about his singing. But now that I know about this other woman, I'm questioning his relationship with Rachel too," she continued. "He was so sweet to me. I don't understand why he would do such a thing."  
  
"Francie, you're my best friend. And, I'm there for you always. You don't have to answer me right now on that question. But you should take some time, and answer for yourself. Trust is a very important part of a relationship. If you think, you can trust him again, that he can change… then work it out."  
  
"Thanks Sydney. I know I can always count on you. You would never lie to me," Francie hugged her. Sydney hugged her back. If Francie had seen her face at that point, she would've wondered about the pain on Sydney's face.  
  
I'll talk to Francie about Vaughn another time….. 


	3. Attestation

Vaughn plopped into his couch, and twisted the cap off his beer, flinging it on the coffee table. He had come home only half an hour ago, and it was late. He wanted to unwind a little before going to bed, and try not to think of Sydney.  
  
God, if he wasn't with her, he was thinking of her. Weiss was right. He definitely wasn't being objective anymore. He wondered if he ever had been with Sydney. She had caught his attention the minute he laid eyes on her, even with that stupid hair. His relationship with Alice had already started to fall apart by that time.  
  
Am I a rebound for her? he thought frowning furiously. He racked his brain to remember if he'd seen the ring on her finger today. The ring had bothered him in the beginning. After a while, he stopped paying attention to it, and more to her smile. It was suddenly important to him to remember if she still wore it.  
  
He had a sudden urge to call her and ask her to meet him at the warehouse. That would be crazy of course. She would think he was crazy, but he'll be sure atleast. He picked up the phone and stared at it for a long awhile.  
  
You're definitely not objective, Vaughn.  
  
He put the phone back down, and rubbed his temple.  
  
I have got to stop thinking about Sydney.  
  
Weiss had brought up the ugly prospect that Sydney may have asked him out of frustration. With all that's been going on, she might have just wanted to meet him outside of work to be defiant. Vaughn had had to hold himself back from denying it vehemently in front of Weiss, but could he be right? She never called him by his first name, though he did freely.  
  
He picked up the phone, and started dialing.  
  
  
  
Sydney settled down on the couch, and turned the television on. Francie had already gone to bed, and she wasn't sleepy yet, thanks to her long nap that afternoon. Her body hurt so much from all the bouncing around in Moscow. She really wasn't surprised when Vaughn had asked if she wanted to see a doctor.  
  
She lifted her pajama top up to and looked at her ribs. They were turning blue. She groaned a little and let top fall back down.  
  
1 If only Vaughn could see her bruises.…  
  
The phone rang loudly. Sydney scrambled out of her seat quickly, and inhaled in when her sides hurt. She picked up the phone, and then realized it was her cell. She ran to her bedroom, and picked up her cell from the nightstand.  
  
"Hello."  
  
"Meet me at the warehouse, please," the voice on the other end whispered.  
  
Vaughn.  
  
Before she could ask him if something was wrong, he had hung up. She looked at her phone thoughtfully. It was strange that he didn't use the standard "Joey's pizza" routine. She hurried on to put some clothes on. She prayed that everything was alright.  
  
  
  
"Something wrong?" Sydney asked as soon as they were inside the gates.  
  
Vaughn leaned back on the crate, and dropped his arms to the side. Sydney chose to lean against the crate in front him, and took on a similar pose. He casually dropped his glance to her hands, and grinned to himself when he found no ring. He dropped his chin further toward his chest, so she wouldn't notice.  
  
"Vaughn, is something wrong?" she insisted.  
  
"Why do you always call me Vaughn, and not Michael?" he returned. He let out a long breath, and looked at her.  
  
"OK," she took a long breath, and returned his look. She could tell something was clearly bothering him, but it wasn't business. Maybe he just wanted to talk to her, like the way she wanted to unload on him sometimes.  
  
"The first time we met, you introduced yourself as Agent Vaughn. I didn't think you're parents hated you to name you 'agent'," she attempted for humor. "Don't read too much into it. I guess it's not life and death situation that brought me here."  
  
"I'm sorry to drag you out here again," he apologized. It occurred to him if Sydney was under surveillance, he probably put her in danger right now asking her to meet him at the warehouse twice in one day. Someone at SD-6 will wonder why she's here.  
  
Great going, Vaughn.  
  
"I've been thinking about a lot of things lately. Mainly about our situation," he choked out. "Haladki maybe an ass, but he was right about one thing. I am too emotionally attached to you."  
  
Sydney opened her mouth to protest at the mention of Haladki's name. Vaughn cut her off before she could voice her opinion.  
  
"Please don't interrupt me for minute. Let me get this out. I think too much about you to do my job. I think I may have put your life in danger today by asking you to come here.. all because I wanted to know if you were wearing your engagement ring. It's very irresponsible of me. Please don't interrupt, please," he pleaded when he saw she was about to object again.  
  
He took a long ragged breath before continuing. "I think tomorrow, when I go into work, I'm going to ask Devlin to take me off as your handler. I am still your friend," he choked out. "You can still call me anytime you want to…. Hmpff"  
  
Sydney, plastering her lips to his, effectively cut him off.  
  
  
  
Sydney didn't know any other way of shutting him up. Everytime she tried to speak, he cut her off. She simply pulled away from where she was leaning, and pulled him into her by his hips, and took his lips in hers.  
  
She kept her eyes open for the first few seconds, afraid he'd pull back. When he didn't, she pushed him back so he was leaning on the crate and opened her mouth under his, closed her eyes and spread her arms to his back pulling him closer. It took him awhile to gather her to him. When he finally did, he did so hesitantly. Touching her face gently with one hand at first, then the other slowly moving to her back and gathering her to him.  
  
He was the one to break away first, but he did not push her away. He held her even tighter to him, wrapping his arms around her, and dropping his chin on her head. Sydney closed her eyes, and smiled while she tucked herself into his neck further.  
  
"You saved my life in many ways than you know," Sydney said breaking the silence. She pulled herself out of the comfortable cocoon of his arms, and moved so that she was leaning against the same crate that he was.  
  
"After Danny died, I didn't care what happened to me. Dixon, my friends and even my father tried to bring me back, and I didn't care. If I hadn't met you, if I hadn't known that somebody cared like you do, I would've approached all my counter-missions recklessly. And, I definitely would've died for it," she explained softly.  
  
"You're my center. You give me focus. When I was trapped in that bunker that Hassan sent me to, I never doubted for a second that you wouldn't get me out. Your feelings for me makes you work harder, keeping me alive. Don't doubt that for a second."  
  
"Syd, are you sure?"  
  
"Lambert wanted me to tag Ana while K-Directorate had their guns trained on me. You haven't asked me to do anything remotely that stupid."  
  
Vaughn chuckled aloud. He turned around and pulled her back into his arms.  
  
"And, just so you know, I haven't worn the ring since you tricked me about my romantic interests," she poked him slightly in his ribs. He kissed her forehead, smiling brilliantly. 


	4. Complication

**Note: I am trying to parallel this story to what is actually going on in the show. I would like to be true to the characters created by JJ Abrams, and I truly don't see these two characters rushing towards a bed. I think it will be a very slow progression, designed to drive us mad. The next scene happens before Vaughn's request to talk to Emily Sloane.**  
  
"Devlin wants to see you," Haladki announced, casually walking into Vaughn's office. Vaughn looked up from his keyboard, and shot him a look.  
  
"What are you doing here, Haladki?" Vaughn asked. "Trying to dig up more stuff to snitch on?"  
  
"Look, I was just passing the message," Haladki held up his hand as he backed out of his office.  
  
Vaughn held his gaze until Haladki was out of sight, and ran his hand through his hair. The nerve of that guy was unbelievable. After putting his life in jeopardy, after putting Sydney in danger, he felt comfortable enough to saunter into his office. Some people are amazing, Vaughn thought to himself.  
  
He got up from his desk, starting towards Devlin's office.  
  
"Hey, wait up," Weiss said as he jogged the short distance to catch up with him. "Headed to Devlin's?" he asked.  
  
"Do you know what this is about?"  
  
"Not really. You haven't done anything recently to be suspended for."  
  
"Why do I hang around you?" Vaughn laughed good-naturedly. At Devlin's door, he knocked softly and waited to be instructed to come in.  
  
"Because of my good looks," Weiss cracked as they walked in.  
  
Inside Devlin's office, Crechtmer, Jack Bristow's handler, sat patiently. Devlin waved them in toward the chairs. Obediently like school children, Vaughn and Weiss occupied the two of the empty chairs.  
  
"Gentleman, I think you know Crechtmer. He brought some interesting news to me, and I think we should act on it," Devlin began, and gestured to Crechtmer to continue.  
  
Crechtmer pulled out a picture of a woman from the file he was holding, and passed it to Vaughn. "This picture was taken almost two years ago. The lady in the picture is Emily Sloane, wife of Arvin Sloane. And as you can probably tell already, the other lady is Sydney Bristow."  
  
"We already knew that the Bristows were friends with Sloane," Vaughn asked as he passed the picture to Weiss. His mind was reeling, trying to catch up to what was going on.  
  
"What you don't know Agent Vaughn, is that Sydney and Emily are, or I should say 'were', friends. They kept in touch up until about a year ago, when she was diagnosed with Cancer. She kind of kept to herself after she became sick, and the friendship dissipated further after Daniel Hecht's death," explained Crechtmer.  
  
"So they were friends. Where is this going?" Vaughn asked belligerently.  
  
"Since Emily became sick, Sloane's been spending a lot of time at home, to be close to her in case she needed him. We want Sydney to re-establish contact with Emily and plant a bug in the house," Devlin filled in.  
  
"That's suicide!" Vaughn exploded. Weiss cleared his throat gently. Devlin didn't look too pleased either. "Sir, you're asking Sydney to go to her boss's house, risk blowing her cover, trying to plant a bug when we aren't even sure that he does any kind of business related to SD-6 from there. It's dangerous," he continued, his voice rising with each word.  
  
"First of all Agent Vaughn, I'm not asking her. I'm telling you to tell her to do it. Second, she knew the risks when she walked in here and volunteered her services. Just do it," Devlin bit out. "Thank you gentlemen. That'll be all."  
  
Vaughn looked like he wanted to argue some more, but Weiss caught his eye, and tilted his head towards the door. Vaughn let out a long ragged breath, and walked out with Weiss.  
  
"This is impossible. Sydney's not going to go for this," Vaughn muttered as they walked back to his office.  
  
"You're not thinking this through. Sydney would do anything to bring down SD-6."  
  
"Everything except deceive someone. She didn't want to lie to me about Shepard. She's not going to want to deceive Emily Sloane," Vaughn dropped into his chair heavily.  
  
"You have no choice. Either order her to carry out the assignment, or you'll be taken off permanently as her handler," Weiss said calmly.  
  
Vaughn could not think of anything else to say to him. Just continued to stare. Last night, he had told Sydney that he should pull out as her handler, and here was a prime example why he should've followed through. Instead he had let her talk him out of it, because he didn't want to not see her, even in that dark warehouse.  
  
They hadn't stayed long. Sydney wanted to get back before Francie started worrying. He knew if they stayed there any longer, they'd do more than just hold each other. He didn't want to make love to her in that place. He wanted a soft bed, some music… He wanted to hold her hand in public, lean across the dinner table and kiss her soft lips first. They snuck around enough. They weren't going to sneak around and have a sleazy office affair. Sydney deserved better. He deserved better.  
  
"Hey Vaughn, are you listening?' Weiss' persistent voice interrupted his thoughts.  
  
"Yeah, I'll talk to her."  
  
I'll talk to her. 


	5. Destiny

**Following the meeting at the warehouse between Vaughn, Jack and Sydney**  
  
Vaughn shoved more Kung Pao chicken into his mouth, while he thumped through the report in front of him. He was in his office, waiting for 8:15 to roll around. He looked at his watch. He had another half-hour. He let out a long breath, shoved more chicken in his mouth, and tried to concentrate on the report in front of him.  
  
Easier said than done, he mused. Right now, Sydney was probably sitting next to Will Tippin, while having some scrumptious dinner, and he was in his office eating cold Chinese food. Nothing about this particular assignment agreed with him. This whole situation was insane.  
  
Part of him had wanted to come up with an insane reason to accompany her tonight. He had stopped himself before he did, embarrassing them both. But he hadn't been able to keep the shock and hurt out of his face when he heard that she was taking Will. It had felt like someone had punched him hard in the belly.  
  
She had looked magnificent, her long legs showing through the slit on the side. He couldn't keep his eyes off her. "You look really pretty," he had complimented her. When she thanked him and turn to go, he almost grabbed her, and wanted to hold on to her.  
  
He checked his watch again. It was almost time. To hell with it, he thought. I should just call her now, and go home to get drunk. He loosened his tie, and sighed. He was definitely jealous. Jealous of Will; jealous of anyone who got to share the world with her. He didn't think her friends realized what a rare gift it was to be with Sydney and not worry if someone's life was in danger.  
  
He opened the case file he'd been reading and tried to give his full attention to it. It was hopeless though. He couldn't concentrate. He picked up the phone and dialed Sydney's number.  
  
"Hello," the voice breathed on the other end.  
  
"Hi, it's Francie," he replied, leaning forward on his elbow.  
  
He could hear Sydney tell someone that it was Francie, and excuse herself. "Hey Sweetie," she continued.  
  
Was she talking to me? No, of course not.  
  
After a few seconds of harsh breathing, he heard her say "Okay, I'm in. I'll see you at the dead drop." The line went dead. He pulled the phone away from his ear, and stared at it for a long moment.  
  
He wished he could take her to one of his hockey games with Weiss, Driscoll and crew. He didn't know if she played, and he didn't care. He just wished he could take her to one, just to be with her.  
  
He sat up suddenly as a thought ripped through his brain. He opened his Outlook, and began typing an email to Driscoll. Wouldn't Sydney be surprised with this one? He began to smile for the first time since he heard she was taking Will Tippin to the dinner.  
  
  
  
**Warning: Minor spoilers ahead. Please don't read beyond this point if you want to be surprised.**  
  
"Meet me at the warehouse," Vaughn's voice sounded desperate to Sydney on her cell. She quickly gathered her things, and walked to the elevator.  
  
"Going somewhere Sydney?" Sloane asked.  
  
Damn.  
  
"Yeah, my friend Francie's not doing so well. I was just going to go check on her," Sydney replied.  
  
"Oh. If you need any help," Sloane offered, looking intently at her.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Sydney rushed to the parking lot, and got in her car. She hoped this wasn't another need-to-check-on-something meetings.  
  
She rushed to the warehouse, parked her, and took off almost running to their meeting place. She could tell as she walked through the cage that Vaughn was clearly agitated and worried. He kept babbling about the Rambaldi page, and rubbing his eyes.  
  
"I think you should see this," he gave her the portfolio. She opened it slowly to look at the page that had been blank. She could not believe her eyes.  
  
"What does this mean?" she asked finally looking up at him.  
  
"I'm not sure. I only looked at this page," Vaughn said heavily. "Sydney, whatever else is in that manuscript, has people worried. I mean really worried. OSA and FBI are involved now, and they want to talk to you."  
  
"FBI wants to talk to me, why?"  
  
"A 500 year old page has a picture of you. Wouldn't you want to know why?"  
  
"That's not a picture of me. It's a picture of someone who looks like me. I never heard of Rambaldi until Sloane briefed me."  
  
He closed the distance between them in two strides and took her elbows in his hand. "I hate this as much as you do, but it has to happen. Your father and I will make sure that SD-6 never finds out all of this, but it has to happen," he lightly shook her with each word.  
  
Sydney felt a tremor go through her entire body, and eyes were beginning to moisten. She looked at her feet, her mind whirling with thoughts, too fast to comprehend. She felt Vaughn's hand cupping her face, tilting her to face him.  
  
"This can't be as scary as hanging from a clothesline being shot at. C'mon. 3 hours tops, and I'll buy you Slusho," his mouth quirked at the end. Sydney couldn't help, but smile. He could always make her smile.  
  
She let herself be absorbed into him, and put her arms around his waist. "Set up the meeting." 


	6. Excursion

**Some spoilers and speculations ahead. Don't read on if you want to be surprised. Read these chapters after Q&A has aired.**  
  
Vaughn stood in front of the window, watching anxiously. Sydney was being questioned on the other side. Vaughn had tried to be with her in the room, but Carson Evans, the DSR agent, had denied him the privilege. Agent Evans was polite, but firm. Vaughn could see that it would only hurt Sydney if he persisted too much, so he had opted to stand outside watching and hearing everything, but unable to do much.  
  
Vaughn turned around at the sound of the door being opened, to reveal Jack Bristow. He was his usual stoic self, until his eyes fell on Vaughn. He straightened up to his full height, and nodded in Vaughn's direction.  
  
"How's it going in there?" Jack got out at last.  
  
"Brutal. They've been at it for about two hours now," Vaughn returned. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I told Sloane that Sydney needed to be with her friend."  
  
"Yeah, but why are you here?"  
  
"I don't understand your question, Mr. Vaughn. Nor do I appreciate it. She's my daughter. The better question is why are you?"  
  
"She's my agent," Vaughn replied tersely.  
  
Jack held his eyes for a long moment. "It occurs to me, Mr. Vaughn, that you put my daughter in harms way, only to save her at the last moment. Do you like her?"  
  
"Hey! Since when are you so concerned for your daughter, Mr. Bristow? You were willing to let her get shot at Donato Park. Someone has to look out for her, because it occurs to me, Mr. Bristow, you never did," Vaughn bit out. "I'm getting her out of there. It's been too long."  
  
Vaughn quickly made his way to the interrogation room. Sydney looked relieved to see him. Agent Evans wasn't amused.  
  
"I'm taking her out of here," Vaughn said. "This is been going on for long now."  
  
"Not yet, Agent Vaughn," interrupted Evans. "We need some tissue samples from her."  
  
"Tissue samples?" Sydney jumped in. "Why?"  
  
"Classified information," came the reply from Agent Evans.  
  
"Fine. Then I'm getting her out of here," Vaughn answered, ignoring Sydney's glare. He was glad that she didn't choose this moment to argue with him. He'll make it up to her later.  
  
  
  
Sydney lay on the cold table, waiting for the lab technician to begin her work. She didn't want to be here. She hated the dress she had to wear. She felt so naked, and vulnerable. She raised her eyes to look out through the window, searching for Vaughn. When she finally located him, she noticed that his forehead was puckered with worry lines again.  
  
Some of her ire at him over being so authoritative went out of her. He was probably doing what he thought was best for her. Truth be told, she had been glad to see him walk in to the interrogation room. Agent Evans was very vague in his questions, but very thorough. As time wore on, he was beginning to give her a headache.  
  
She felt a prick on her back, near her right hip. She winced slightly at the discomfort.  
  
C'mon Syd. You've put up with more pain than this.  
  
She looked up at Vaughn again, and smiled at him. She held his gaze until the needle was out of her body.  
  
  
  
Vaughn sat waiting patiently for Sydney to come out. The tests were over, and she was getting dressed in to her usual clothes.  
  
It was over. For now atleast.  
  
"We need to talk."  
  
Vaughn looked up, straight at Jack. He had almost forgotten that he was here.  
  
"About what?"  
  
"Not here. Take Sydney to your office. I'll be there with Devlin."  
  
Devlin?  
  
"Can you tell me what this is about?" Vaughn put on his least annoying voice.  
  
"Your office. Half an hour." With that, Jack had turned around to walk away.  
  
  
  
Sydney walked beside Vaughn to his office, both holding a Slusho each. He was adamant about it, and she couldn't refuse the offer. She took a gulp of her Slusho. They were definitely good.  
  
She threw a quick glance at Vaughn. He had been silent on the drive from the lab. The only words he uttered had been over the Slusho.  
  
"What's going on," She asked.  
  
"I don't know. Your father called this meeting," he said. "If Devlin is going to come to my office, it's got to be big."  
  
"Oh," she tore her gaze away, took another sip of her Slusho, and threw it in the trashcan as she walked on.  
  
She took a deep breath when she spied several people in Vaughn's office. After the grilling she had just been with the FBI, she didn't want to go through another.  
  
"Hey, it's going to be ok," Vaughn whispered to her. "You ready?"  
  
She nodded her head, and walked in ahead of him, nodding her head in acknowledgement at the two people whom she knew; her father and Eric Weiss. Vaughn quickly introduced the other two people in the room, as Director Devlin and Officer Cohen of Sci-Tech. If this was another interrogation session, she was certainly puzzled by who was here.  
  
"Why don't we get started," Jack Bristow broke the silence.  
  
"Right," Officer Cohen cleared his throat. "We've been studying those pictures you took for us in Tunisia, and we've been able to understand, at least partially, some of the pages. We think the code is broken down into sections and embedded into three, maybe four of the Rambaldi artifacts."  
  
"That would explain the simultaneous attack on FTL, K-Directorate and SD- 6," Jack mused.  
  
"Now, we know what two of the things that 'The Man' was after. We don't know what the third object was that was in FTL's custody," Cohen continued. "The section of the manuscript that we were able to read makes reference to a painting Rambaldi did of Pope Alexander VI. We think FTL had a decoder of some sort that helps you read the message embedded in both the manuscript and the painting."  
  
"Where is the painting right now?" Sydney asked  
  
"In the archives of the Vatican," Devlin finally spoke up. "We're going to send you to retrieve the painting, and replace it with a fake. Vaughn will be your back up."  
  
Vaughn's head snapped up to look at Sydney. She was already shaking her head.  
  
"No, not a good idea. Dad, why can't you go with me?" Sydney asked. Vaughn couldn't believe his ears. He kept his eyes trained on her.  
  
"Sloane would suspect something. And, I need to stay back to monitor certain situations that are going on at SD-6," Jack countered firmly.  
  
"Cohen, thank you very much. We'll take it from here," Devlin dismissed Cohen. Everyone remained quiet while the Officer Cohen exited the room.  
  
"Sydney, I would like someone with more experience to go with you, but under the circumstances, he's Devlin's choice," Jack explained.  
  
"You're going to fly to Prague to meet with Vaughn at a Bed and Breakfast. Vaughn will fly ahead of you. In the meantime, your father will tell Sloane that you were taking your friend to Lake Arrowhead for a much-needed break for the two of you. It's important that you talk your friend into going somewhere," Devlin detailed the assignment.  
  
"From Prague, both of you will fly as a Canadian couple on vacation. A CSIS agent will drop off your Canadian passports in Prague. Once you're in Rome you will find, this abandoned school, about a half a mile from the Vatican. Underneath the school is a tunnel that was closed during World War II, after the Nazi invasion. You will use the tunnel to gain access to the Vatican archives," Jack continued, unrolling detailed plans of the underground tunnels.  
  
"Talk Francie and Will into going to our cottage. We've arranged for Agent Weiss to strike up a friendship with them, and be invited to your house. He's going to become a part of your close circle of friends, in case you need back up from CIA in the future for any dinner invitation," her father continued.  
  
Sydney shared a look with Vaughn, careful not to reveal her disappointment. He swallowed hard, and smiled briefly.  
  
At least we get to pretend that we're couple in Rome, she thought to herself. 


	7. Journey

Weiss waited til everyone left, and walked up to close the door. The usually easy going guy, was strangely silent and thoughtful.  
  
"I don't know why I feel like I need to apologize, but it wasn't my idea, man," he offered to Vaughn.  
  
"It's alright," Vaughn returned stoically. Sydney just smiled at him.  
  
"So, hey… good job at Sloane's house. Vaughn didn't think you'd go for the plan. You came through."  
  
Sydney was buffled. She quickly shot Vaughn a look.  
  
"I thought it was your idea," she questioned him.  
  
"No, Devlin had to order him," Weiss offered. At Vaughn's look, he quickly retreated saying "I should get going."  
  
Sydney remained quiet til he was out of the office. "You argued with me."  
  
"Yeah," Vaughn said. Sydney waited a long moment for him to continue.  
  
"You should probably get going. You need to talk to Francie." Explaining that he was only doing his job seemed unnecessary for him.  
  
"I'll see you in Prague."  
  
  
  
Sydney settled in to her seat, and pulled the seatbelts to fasten it, rolling her head and shoulders slightly to work out the tension that was racking her body. Usually she had Dixon to distract from the mission ahead, and the journey didn't seem so bad, but this time the journey itself was a mission to her, with no one to distract her.  
  
It had been hard to convince Francie to go to her father's cottage near Lake Arrowhead. Francie had complained that she was fine, and wanted to stay back to write more bitter return letters. But, with Will's assistance, she had been able to talk her into going, promising she will join them both as soon as she returned; a promise she won't be able to keep.  
  
Oh well. She'll think of an excuse once she got back. It was unnerving however, that Francie could sense her excitement over this particular trip. She had been relentless hounding her for details, until finally Sydney had volunteered some information about how she was going on this trip with another banker from another company.  
  
"You like him, don't you?" Francie had pinned her right away.  
  
Sydney wanted to lie, to protect her friend from any harm that might come by confessing the truth. But she desperately wanted to talk to her friend about the guy she seriously liked.  
  
"Yeah," she had admitted. "But it's complicated. He works for a different bank, you know."  
  
A different bank!!. Good grief Syd. You're trained to be sneakier than this.  
  
Francie had given her a smile, and patted her on the shoulder. She had begged her not to say anything to Will yet. She'd made up some excuse about not wanting his questions. Francie had dropped the subject, opting to pack her bags instead.  
  
Sydney looked down at her hands, at the ring that had been provided to her by OPS at CIA. Ironic that she would get another one, when she had just taken her engagement ring off. Vaughn presumably would've gotten a ring to match hers, to fit the part of the happy married couple, vacationing in Italy.  
  
She sighed heavily, sinking into the seat, and tried to get some sleep.  
  
  
  
Vaughn walked into the Bed & Breakfast, whistling softly to himself. For a B&B, this was impressive, complete with a lounge, bar, and pool table on the main floor. There was a door to his left, which he assumed led to the dining hall. Under normal circumstances, he would've liked to spend a night.  
  
1 Jack has good taste…  
  
He plopped his bags on the floor, beside a stool, as he grabbed a seat at the bar. He ordered a drink and waited for his contact with CSIS to arrive.  
  
"You checking in?" the bartender pointed towards the bags.  
  
"No, just waiting for my wife," he choked out. Wife, he thought. What a joke. They can't even hang out in public.  
  
"Not staying then?" the bartended pressed.  
  
"My wife and I are backpacking," Vaughn offered the prepared cover story. "We're going to keep moving today."  
  
"Then you need this," the barkeep pulled out an envelope. "Slight change in plan. Meet your wife at the airport. You're leaving in an hour to Rome."  
  
Vaughn quickly scanned around before opening the envelope. Two passports were neatly tucked inside. He nodded his thanks to the bartender, grabbed his bags, and rushed to the door.  
  
  
  
Sydney claimed her bags and quickly made her way to the waiting area. She scanned the throng of people, for the familiar tall and lithe form. She turned fully around once, and not having found him, continued to scan the crowd. Flipping her wrist, she checked her watch. They had fifteen minutes to board the plane. She hoped that he had gotten the message in time.  
  
Her father had briefed her on the change of meeting place. He had assured her that he would make sure that Vaughn had gotten the message. She hoped he had been able to in time.  
  
Her anxiety grew as she continued to scan the crowd, without spotting the person she wanted to see.  
  
"Hey, got here as soon as I could," a familiar voice said from behind her. She whipped around to find a pair of the loveliest green eyes and the puckered forehead creased with worry lines.  
  
"Hi honey," she quickly kissed him on the lips, and smoothed his forehead with her fingertips. "What took you so long?"  
  
Vaughn was taken back for a minute before he noticed that her eyes were darting back and forth. He smiled back, grabbing her arm to bring it down for a kiss.  
  
"Sorry, the cab took a while. Let's go."  
  
He pulled out two passports from inside his jacket, and handed one to her. She pulled out two tickets from her purse and gave him one. Both of them shared a smile at each other, before clasping their hands and heading towards the departure terminal.  
  
  
  
Jack Bristow walked firmly, buttoning his suit. When he reached his destination, he paused for a second, gathering his thoughts, and his composure.  
  
"You wanted to see me?" he asked Sloane, upon entering his office.  
  
"We've been able to identify The Man, as Khasinau. At this point, that's all we have a name. Tap your contacts in Europe to see what you can find out," Sloane handed him a very thin file.  
  
Jack received the file, and turned around to walk out.  
  
"Have you heard from Sydney?" Sloane asked.  
  
"Not since she left for Arrowhead. Why?"  
  
"Just wanted to see how she was doing. That's all. Thank you Jack." Sloane returned to his scribbling.  
  
Jack nodded his head, exited the office discretely. Once he was outside, he stopped to glance back. He stood there, staring at Sloane's office for a long a while.  
  
2 What are you up to, Sloane? 


	8. Mission

It was late afternoon. The sun had begun to descend for the day. Vaughn and Sydney strolled down the street hands clasped tightly. Once they reached their designation, a small bistro with a lovely view of their target, the school, they asked the waiter to seat them outside.  
  
Sydney was nearly unrecognizable, with her short black hair and blue contacts, light yellow pants, and floral print blouse. Vaughn had raised his eyebrow at her ensemble, when she emerged from the washroom at the airport. Gone was the suave and swanky Sydney Bristow, spy extraordinaire. Before him stood the bright eyed and excited homemaker, Evelyn Laundry from Red Deer, Alberta.  
  
Vaughn leaned forward to take Sydney's hands in his, talking softly. To the world, it would have seemed like a young couple in love, whispering sweet nothing. No one would've ever thought there was a strategy session taking place for a break in.  
  
They ordered a light repast. Once the meal was finished, Vaughn paid the bill, and they both stood up. They shared a look at each other, and began to walk, turning left at the alley, to the parked van. They quickly got into the van, Vaughn closing the door behind him. Sydney had already pulled on her uniform of a sewage worker over her outfit.  
  
A few minutes later, the van pulled up in front of the school, and a couple of workers emerged from inside, carrying the various tools of their trade in two heavy bags. They casually made their way down the hall, down the stairs to the basement, occasionally consulting their map for guidance.  
  
Vaughn peered over Sydney's shoulder to look at the map, before pointing to a door on the left. They jogged the short distance, and quickly entered what once would've been a utility closet, with a cabinet against the wall.  
  
"This is it," Sydney said. "Help me push this out of the way."  
  
Behind the cabinet, they found a small trap door that had been welded shut a long time ago. Vaughn brought a blowtorch out of one the bags, and began cutting away. Once he had finished cutting, Sydney sat down, brought her knees up to her chest, and kicked the door solidly.  
  
"Remind me not to piss you off," Vaughn quipped, bringing a torch out, and shining it into the tunnel, while Sydney crawled through the opening.  
  
"This way," Sydney said consulting the map, pointing to the tunnel on his right. Twenty minutes later, after turning left and right, repeatedly, they reached a dead end with a door, also welded shut. Vaughn set to work, cutting through the door again with blowtorch.  
  
They entered the archives silently, carefully, Sydney moving ahead of Vaughn. She located the security panel, and quickly jogged her way to it. Pulling out what looked like a tube of lipstick, she opened it to reveal the same device used to override the safe at Sloane's house. She attached it to the security panel, and the words "Alarm Deactivated" flashed across the display.  
  
"I wasn't sure it would work," Sydney breathed out, pulling the device free of the panel.  
  
"Me neither," Vaughn admitted. "We've got 10 minutes. Find the portrait."  
  
After a few minutes of walking down aisles, stacked with crates, Sydney found the portrait, and motioned to Vaughn to join her. They quickly disassembled the portrait, Sydney rolling the portrait carefully and securing it a tube, while Vaughn placed a fake in the frame.  
  
Sounds of footsteps thundered close by. Sydney's hands froze in place, as she looked at Vaughn.  
  
"Pack up. WE'RE getting out of here," he said, throwing all the tools in the bag. Sydney moved quickly, closing the tube, and slinging it over her head, and across her shoulder.  
  
"Let's go."  
  
Sydney and Vaughn quickly exited the archives, closing the door behind them, and ran down the tunnel. The footsteps kept clicking on behind them.  
  
"We have to move fast. I think they are gaining," Sydney got out as she kept on running. As if to prove her right, bullets whizzed by her ear. She increased her pace, noticing out of the corner of her eyes that Vaughn was struggling with the bags.  
  
"Leave the equipment," she said. He dropped the bags, and kept pace with, though sluggishly. They their way to the door at the school, and crawled through into the closet, Sydney replacing the door, and Vaughn pulling the cabinet back into place.  
  
Vaughn grabbed Sydney's arm, as she was about to exit the closet.  
  
"Syd, I've been shot," he gasped out.  
  
"What???"  
  
He opened his uniform and pulled it to the left. A small patch of redness, just under his ribcage, was rapidly growing large. Sydney pulled his uniform off him, and proceeded to strip down of hers. She tried to rip one of them, cursing when the thick material wouldn't give way.  
  
"We've got to put pressure on your wound. Take your T-shirt off," she ordered.  
  
Vaughn complied sluggishly, fighting off waves of nausea that threatened to do him in, while Sydney looked around the tiny closet for anything that could help her to rip the uniform.  
  
"This'll have to do," she muttered as she found an old screwdriver to stabbing holes in the uniform, and then ripping it to strips. She used some of the strips as padding, using the other to hold the pad in place over his wound. Once that was done, she helped Vaughn stand up, and helped into his T-shirt. She opened the closet door, and peeked outside, looking at both directions.  
  
She put his arms around his waist, her palm over his padding, holding it tightly in place. The both walked out slowly, and made their way to the van parked outside. Sydney heaved a sigh of relief when she saw the vehicle. The momentary relief became dread when she noticed guards, fanning out towards the alley and the school.  
  
"Just keep walking," she instructed Vaughn. She prayed that the guards wouldn't notice the rapidly growing blood stain under her palm as she passed by a couple of them. She smiled at one of the guards as she cuddled closer to Vaughn, wrapping her free hand around his middle as well. Vaughn threw one of his over her shoulder, more for balance than appearance.  
  
They both breathed easily as the guards kept on walking, only giving them a momentary glance.  
  
"A few more steps," Sydney said as they reached the van. She walked the passenger side, helping him in first, before running around the front to the other side. The van peeled rubber once Sydney had jumped in. 


	9. Rescue Operation

Jack Bristow waited patiently for his daughter at the carousal. He looked at it again, remembering the times Sydney would ride on it squealing in delight. Laura would just smile brilliantly. After nearly twenty years, it was still hard to believe all of those happy memories were all false. The visits had stopped when he had found out the truth about his wife. After she had passed away, being with Sydney had brought up some very painful memories.  
  
Sending Sydney to live with his mother was decision he regretted. The day Sydney had walked into the CIA and volunteered herself was his proudest, and the most terrifying, moment. Despite all the pain that she had had to endure, she was the most selfless in love, evident the most when she was around her friends.  
  
He glanced up to notice Sydney, striding towards him at an angry pace, arms swinging wildly at her sides, her long coat swishing loud.  
  
"How is he? How is Vaughn?" she didn't even pause for breath as she shot out her question.  
  
"He is fine. The medics tended to him on the chopper. The bullet didn't hit any major organs, but he did lose a fair amount of blood. He'll be in the hospital for a couple of days," Jack said.  
  
"Can I see him?  
  
"I would advice against it, Sydney. Sloane's has been asking about you. He received a phone call at home about page 47. Sydney, he knows that it's a fake."  
  
Sydney was stunned. She couldn't say anything for a long while, her mind trying to come up with possible counter-responses to Sloane's questions.  
  
"Sydney, did you have the transcript the whole time?" Jack asked.  
  
"No. When I got to the airport dock, I handed it to Dixon, while I changed," she said. Her head snapped up at what this could mean.  
  
"Dad, no. You can't suggest Dixon, when you and I both know fully well I switched the page."  
  
"I'm not going to implicate him. Just suggest him as alternate suspect to you. Divert suspicion.  
  
"Dad, no. Absolutely not."  
  
Jack was silent, looking down at his hand. "The CIA figures out why Khasinau went after FTL. Their DNA encrypted greeting cards are based on Rambaldi's work. Khasinau wanted a working model to make his life easier. Sydney, there's more. The DSR cracked the code on that page with your picture on it. It's a prophecy, a warning about the woman on that page. They've confirmed it's you."  
  
"What??? Huh….How??"  
  
"The tests they ran on you..they were trying to confirm certain details Rambaldi mentioned about the woman in the picture. You matched all the details. They want to bring you in."  
  
"Bring me in? Why? I haven't done anything."  
  
"The painting of Alexander VI has some unusual dark spots on the canvas that doesn't belong in the picture. At first, SCI-Tech thought it was sloppy workmanship. When they did a spectral analysis however, they got something else. It's a star chart, like the in Sol D'oro. They took the date from the painting to figure out the location. It's an old castle in Barcelona that once belonged to a friend of Rambaldi, Duke Sperello. He helped Rambaldi after he was excommunicated. Whatever is in Barcelona, Sydney, your DNA is the key. That why DSR wants to bring you in. They're afraid that you're going to help SD-6 bring to life a weapon of mass destruction."  
  
Sydney swallowed hard, blinking back tears, as it all sunk in. "It's too late, Dad. Marshall already has a sample of my DNA."  
  
  
  
Eric Weiss knocked softly on the doorjamb before entering the hospital room. Vaughn, he noticed, was already out of bed, and getting dressed.  
  
"Going somewhere?" he asked lightly.  
  
"Hey, surprised me," Vaughn replied buttoning his shirt, and turning around. "I'm checking out, against AMA," he smiled sardonically.  
  
"Man, you've been shot. Maybe you should listen to the doctors."  
  
"No.. hate doctors. Beside, I can't lie here when we have so much going on. Those DSR guys are probably going to poke and prod Syd.."  
  
"They took her into custody," Weiss interrupted him.  
  
"WHAT????" Vaughn exclaimed, and winced in pain.  
  
"I'll tell you in the car. C'mon," he helped his friend pack his bag, leading him out the door.  
  
  
  
"You let them take her?" Vaughn couldn't believe his ears. "You're her father, and you handed her over?"  
  
"I was ordered to, Mr. Vaughn, Under the circumstances, I felt it would be prudent to do just that," Jack replied back, just as indignantly.  
  
Weiss rubbed his temples. Whenever he was in the room with one of the Bristows and Vaughn, there was always yelling involved. At least no body else could hear them outside this warehouse, he thought to himself.  
  
"What do we do now," he asked aloud. "Should we go after the DNA sample?"  
  
"No. Our first priority should be getting Sydney out of custody. SD-6 doesn't have the information that we do," Jack said.  
  
"The DNA sample was taken months ago. The integrity of the sample might've degraded over time," Vaughn exhaled out, rubbing his eyes.  
  
"So, what do we do?" Weiss asked.  
  
"something utterly stupid and dangerous," Vaughn removed his hands from his eyes, locking onto Jack's gaze. He held his gaze until understanding seeped into the older man's eyes, leaving Weiss to exclaim aloud, "What?"  
  
"Mr. Vaughn is proposing that we kidnap Sydney from federal custody," Jack explained.  
  
"Yeah, you in?" Vaughn turned around to confront a stunned Weiss. 


	10. Fugitives

**Note: I really suck at action. Please forgive me for this hack job.***  
  
Sydney stared straight ahead at the wall, ignoring Agent Carson, much to his frustration. She'd been in custody now for over six hours. Agent Carson hadn't led up on his questions. He had wanted a full disclosure of all the missions she went on that involved Rambaldi artifacts for SD-6. She had asked for legal counsel, instead of answering his questions. When Agent Carson had refused her request, she'd set her jaws mutinously, and refused to answer his questions.  
  
That was almost an hour ago. Agent Carson was increasingly frustrated as time passes on. She wondered bitterly what kind of torture they would resort to in the end. They always did. It didn't matter if they were the good guys or the bad guys. They always inflicted mind-numbing, brain splattering pain to get what they want.  
  
She rolled her eyes slightly to the left, to the clock on the wall. She was due at Credit Dauphine in ten hours. In another ten hours.. her world as she knew it would no longer exists, unless her father had been able to talk to Sloane. She doubted any excuse her father could provide would mollify Sloane. He'd want to talk to her, in person. He was not a patient man, despite his believe.  
  
"Cuff her. She's not going to talk," Carson finally sighed. "Let's see if she's ready to talk in the morning."  
  
The two burly gentlemen with FBI written across the back of their jackets, move to bind her hands. She stood up, and voluntarily offered her hands behind her back. The led her out of the room, past the door, and down a long corridor. When they reached the end, one of the gentlemen pushed a buzzer, indicating to the guard to open the door. He walked in the front, eyes scanning the perimeter, while the other agent led Sydney by the elbow to the parking lot, to an awaiting van.  
  
Sydney tensed hearing a gun cock in the not too distance. So did the agent in the front who promptly pulled out his service revolver. Two figures, dressed in black clothes and ski masks carrying rifles emerged from behind the van.  
  
"Drop your weapon," the burlier of the two figures ordered. The agent ahead looked over his shoulder at his partner before complying.  
  
"You too," the burly figure spoke again, this time to the agent holding Sydney. She felt him tense a second before he dropped his weapon too. She released her breath, realizing that she'd been holding it in.  
  
"Down on the ground," the burly figure ordered again to the two agents, motioning Sydney forward with his weapon. Sydney hesitated, assessing the situation.  
  
Did Sloane send these guys?  
  
The two gunmen walked forward, both kicking the weapons away from the agents. The silent figure reached down to grab the keys to her cuffs. When he found it, he touched Sydney's elbow to guide her gently towards the van.  
  
The gentleness of the action had Sydney looking closely at this silent figure, locking eyes with her captor, and noticing the gentle green eyes behind the horrid mask, begging her silently to comply. Her eyes widened, and she bit her lip, willed herself to move forward.  
  
Oh God, what is he doing?  
  
Everything happened so fast, it was a blur to Sydney. The other figure yelled at the driver to step on it. She was pushed into the van by the burly figure, while Vaughn stood behind her. She noticed one of the agents was off the floor and rushing towards his weapon.  
  
"Look out," she screamed.  
  
Vaughn turned around in time, and held his rifle to block the agent's punch, and return one with the butt of his rifle. He scrambled inside the vehicle, and the van peeled off. A few bullets ricocheted off the side, as the agents attempted to stop the van.  
  
As the van accelerated, twisting and turning, through the parking lot, Sydney lost her balance, slamming into the side. The other masked figure quickly reached over to steady her. Vaughn ripped off the mask, and covered the distance between them, reaching behind her to release her handcuffs. She watched intently as the burly one removed his mask, and was surprised to see her father.  
  
"Dad, what the hell are you doing?" she looked between the two men in her life.  
  
Before anyone can answer, from the front came the order to hold on to something. A second later, the van exploded through the closed gates of the parking lot, screeching on the busy streets.  
  
"Who's driving?" Sydney asked.  
  
"Weiss," came Vaughn's answer.  
  
"Hey Syd," Weiss yelled out from the front.  
  
"Drive to the mines," ordered Vaughn.  
  
"Yeah, everyone sit tight." The van accelerated ahead as Sydney looked through the window panel to see if they've been pursued.  
  
"We should ditch the van," she said.  
  
"Your father already thought of it," Vaughn replied, breathing rapidly.  
  
  
  
The Ford Tauras pulled up in front of the brick and wood cottage. The three men and Sydney got out and piled inside. Jack had explained earlier that this was the summer get-away of a friend of his, and that the owners were currently in Europe. Weiss whistled as he walked in. For a summerhouse, the cottage was well furnished and immaculate.  
  
"You look pale," Sydney observed, sitting on the arm of one of the sofas.  
  
"Yeah, I feel little weak. Must be the blood loss in Rome," Vaughn smiled weakly, lowering himself to a sofa with effort.  
  
Jack had noticed that Vaughn was moving stiffly. He'd surmised that the younger man had hurt himself somehow, maybe torn his stitches, but if Vaughn wasn't going to draw attention to his plight, then he wouldn't either.  
  
"I'll see if I can fix some hot food. That'll boost you up," Sydney walked off in the direction of the kitchen, Weiss following behind her.  
  
"Let me look at your bandage," Jack said.  
  
"Not here. Let's do it in the van. Sydney has enough on her mind," Vaughn slowly got up and made his way to the door.  
  
Jack followed, "You should've just driven like we asked you to."  
  
When Sydney came back to the living room, Vaughn was nowhere in sight, and Jack was pouring a shot of brandy. "He's in there," he pointed with his glass, and walked into one of the rooms. A very pale Vaughn lay on the bed. Sydney was amazed when Jack, her father, crossed the room to hand Vaughn the brandy, who gulped it down. Having done his part, Jack left the room.  
  
Sydney walked over with the tray, and put it beside the bed table.  
  
"A soft bed," Vaughn muttered. "And, I can't even move," he smiled ruefully, eliciting a chuckle from Sydney.  
  
Jack came back in the room, with Weiss in tow, and a bag in his hand. "Sydney, I picked up some clothes for you. Why don't you use the other room, and rest up.  
  
"I'll take first watch," Weiss offered.  
  
"What's the plan?" Sydney asked.  
  
"Tomorrow morning, I smuggle you in to Credit Dauphine. You will meet Sloane, while Vaughn and Weiss work on clearing your name," Jack explained.  
  
"That's assuming the Feds don't barge in here and arrest us all," Weiss quipped.  
  
No one in the room was able to laugh at that thought. 


	11. Into the Ocean

Vaughn looked up at his secretary as she entered his office.  
  
"Devlin wants you both in his office," she said, pursing her lips.  
  
"He knows," Weiss said, putting the yo-yo down on Vaughn's desk. "Are you going to tell him about Mt.Sebacio?"  
  
"Yeah, we need him to authorize a jet to fly there," Vaughn replied grabbing the files containing the full translation of Rambaldi's prophecy. The tension that had been gripping him had left now that he knew there was a way to prove Sydney's innocence.  
  
Hope Devlin still feels Sydney is an asset to the CIA..  
  
"You two, in here," Devlin bit out, spying Weiss and Vaughn through his open door, "And close the door behind you," he added when he noticed that Haladki was not too far behind.  
  
Devlin waited for the two agents to comply with his orders before he began firing away. "Where the hell is Sydney Bristow?"  
  
Vaughn touched Weiss's hand to stop the flow of his defensive words, and looked up at his superior. "She's at Credit Dauphine, meeting with Sloane regarding the counterfeit page in the manuscript. Sir, I just wanted to say this was all my idea. No one else should get reprimanded."  
  
"I didn't need you to tell me that. Is Jack bringing her back here?"  
  
"Actually, Sir, I'd like to put her on a plane to Mt.Sebacio. Look at this section of the translation, the second paragraph. This will help prove Sydney is not the one," Vaughn gave the file he'd been studying to Devlin, and waited patiently while the Director read the section pointed out to him.  
  
"Do it," Devlin said after a very long moment.  
  
  
  
Sydney waited patiently in the boardroom, staring at the blank screen in front of her. The swooshing noise brought her head up, staring straight at Sloane. She was glad he wasn't sending her to talk to security section again. The last time was more than enough for a lifetime.  
  
"Sydney, how was your trip.. to Lake Arrowhead?" Sloane casually inquired.  
  
What is he up to?  
  
"It was good," Sydney said cautiously. "Thanks for giving me the time off. My friend is feeling better now."  
  
"I'm glad. I'm glad," he paused, steepling his fingers and resting his chin on top. "Good work in Tunisia, Sydney. I'm proud of the work you do here, which is why I was surprised to hear some disturbing news."  
  
"What news?"  
  
"Our labs in Munich has informed me that one page in the manuscript is a fake. Page 47 to be exact. Did you open the manuscript on the boat?"  
  
"I barely had time to get out of there, before Sark showed up. I had to take the boat, remember?"  
  
"Yes. Well, thank you Sydney. We will talk some more." He got up and walked out of the boardroom, leaving a very relieved Sydney to sit back.  
  
I'm off the hook… for now…  
  
  
  
Haladki stood at a distance, watching Vaughn and Weiss, in Vaughn's closed office, in the midst of some furious activities. He could tell something was going on, and that he wouldn't be privileged to find out how the Golden boy had saved the day again, until later.  
  
He had no doubt that Vaughn and Weiss were one of the two involved in the kidnapping of Sydney Bristow.  
  
If only he could find out where she was..  
  
He moved from his safe corner, walking down the hallway towards Devlin's office. He doubted that Devlin would trust him enough after his blunder during the DSR meeting.  
  
There must be a way….  
  
His eyes fell on Maureen, the office assistant, typing away at her desk. He smiled at his own brilliance.  
  
"Her Maureen, can I ask for a small favour?" he leaned against her desk. She looked up warily at him, and he plastered his most appealing smile at her. "Can you pull up requisition requests submitted today for vehicles, please?"  
  
She began typing away furiously, and Haladki's smile got bigger as his eyes fell on the most interesting requisition, submitted by Vaughn.  
  
  
  
Jack glanced at the backseat, and smiled slightly at Sydney, crouched low on the seat. She smiled back at him.  
  
"Thanks for the rescue, Dad."  
  
"It was Vaughn's idea."  
  
"Well, it was a stupid idea, but I'm still glad to be out of there," she smiled.  
  
"Call me as soon as you get to Mt. Sebacio," Jack said as he pulled into an alley, where an old Chevrolet was parked.  
  
They quickly got out of the car, Jack filling her in on the last minute details. Sydney ran to the old car, and sped off. Jack stood there, watching the speeding car. He pulled out his cell phone, dialing some numbers into it.  
  
"She's off," he said when the other person picked it up, and snapped the phone off.  
  
  
  
Maureen stood outside Vaughn's office, twisting the napkin in her hand. She wasn't sure how he was going to react to the news, though generally he was a nice guy. She took a deep breath, and knocked on his door.  
  
Vaughn waved her in, smiling slightly at her.  
  
"Agent Vaughn, are you busy?" she asked timidly.  
  
"I've gotta minute. What's going on?"  
  
"Agent Vaughn, I need to tell you something, and please don't tell me anyone. I don't want to get fired."  
  
"Maureen, what is it?" Vaughn tried to hold on to his patient. He didn't have time for this.  
  
"Haladki came by my desk earlier, and he asked to see the requisition requests for vehicles submitted today," she got out before she lost her nerve. She looked up at Vaughn, and she almost wished she could've run out of there.  
  
Weiss prevented her from bolting, filling the door. "Turn the TV on. You've got to see this. Channel six"  
  
Vaughn turned the television on, to see a police chase that had stopped at the pier, with a Chevrolet cornered by a sea of police cars and the ocean.  
  
"Is that Sydney?" he choked out at Weiss, who could only nod.  
  
He turned back to the television, his heart pounding, his eyes blinking furiously. He held his breath and watched. It seemed like an eternity, before the car sped again, crashing through the railing and straight into the ocean.  
  
OH GOD!!!!!  
  
Vaughn forgot to breath.  
  
  
  
**Note: For the intents and purposes of guiding this story to how I think it should end, I'm going to interweave my story with the some scenes in "Q&A". The chase scene, from the moment Sydney got in the CIA car to her conversation with her father will be as happened in the episode. I couldn't re-write it any better. Confused yet? Good, I've done my job ( BTW, look forward to my idea of revenge on Haladki. It oughta cheer some shippers out there** 


	12. Alive

Francie walked to kitchen counter with her empty bowl of popcorn, and dropped it in the sink. Will had walked up to the counter and was perched on one of the stools. They were both silent, shaken by what they had just seen on television.  
  
"Wow, can you believe that?" Francie broke the silence. "I mean to drive yourself into the ocean, over a car of all things."  
  
"Yeah, there are some desperate people out there," Will answered quite somberly. "Puts things in perspective though, don't ya think? Here we are living this comfortable life, going out with friends, jobs and all, all the while complaining.. and someone drives themselves into the ocean over a car."  
  
"Hey, did Sydney call you yet?" Francie asked, attempting the conversation in another direction.  
  
"No, did she call you?"  
  
"No. Now that's weird, right. It's not like Sydney."  
  
"Totally. Sydney's just.. I don't know.. Has she seemed distracted to you lately?"  
  
"Yeah, her job sucks."  
  
Will just grunted in agreement. Wherever she was, he hoped she was having a good time.  
  
  
  
The clock on the wall chimed 8 times softly, as Vaughn with the phone perched between his ear and shoulder, shuffled through the various files in front of him, while snapping his fingers to get the attention of Weiss. The office was in a flurry of activities, everyone in the room, was on the phone. Vaughn slammed the phone down angrily, and looked up at Weiss, who was winding down his conversation.  
  
"You got anything?" Vaughn asked.  
  
"No, coastguard is not going to send down any divers tonight. It's too cold and dark, apparently," Weiss offered sardonically.  
  
"My cop buddy said there have been no report of Sydney or a bo.. body," he choked out. He couldn't get the word out. Sydney dead was an impossibility. He wanted it to be impossibility. "Heard from Jack yet?"  
  
"No," Weiss responded.  
  
"The jet is still on land," Jeanie, Vaughn's assistant, reported, walking into the office.  
  
"Michael, she's a resourceful woman. Don't forget it," Weiss tried to be positive.  
  
"Yeah, I know."  
  
The telephone on his desk rang noisily, making Vaughn twitch. He quickly picked it up.  
  
A few seconds later, relief flooded his face, as he closed his eyes, exhaled out while pumping his fist slightly. He looked up at Weiss, while he thanked the caller and hung up.  
  
"That was Jack. He just spoke to Sydney. She's on her way to the jet now," his smile mirrored the one on Weiss' face.  
  
"I gotta have a talk with Sydney. This life and death stuff of hers in making me lose precious weight," he joked around. "How did she get out?"  
  
"She breathed using the air in the tire, and then swam out. Good news is that the cops aren't looking for her, since she's supposed to be dead."  
  
"Well, since our mission has been accomplished, wanna go for a drink?"  
  
"Yeah, Jeannie, how about it?" Vaughn asked his assistant. "I feel like celebrating. Let me brief Devlin first."  
  
  
  
Vaughn walked back to the table with a large pitcher of beer. Weiss rubbed his hands and chuckled aloud. Jeannie just poured herself another glass of beer. They'd been celebrating for over an hour. Weiss was well on his way to being drunk, so was Vaughn.  
  
"So Devlin suspended Haladki, huh," Weiss inquired.  
  
"Yeah. He was sputtering and making excuses. So pathetic. I still don't get what he's got against me though. Man, I would've loved to punch his lights out," Vaughn said.  
  
Jeannie choked out laughing. "You better not. You'd get fired."  
  
"Yeah, Devlin won't be too pleased with you," Weiss interjected.  
  
"At least once, I'd like to punch his lights out. He crossed the line going after Sydney to hurt me."  
  
"Ok guys. Before you plan Haladki's murder, and I have to be a witness, I'm outta here," Jeannie piped in, getting her belongings together. "Thanks for the drinks."  
  
"Bye Jeannie," Weiss said, while Vaughn just saluted her, taking a sip of his beer, and licking away the foam.  
  
"Sweet girl," Weiss continued, still staring at the departing Jeannie. "Sydney's not jealous, is she?"  
  
Vaughn just glared at him. Weiss chuckled, taking a big gulp of his beer. "You know what we should do? We should invite Haladki to one of our games," Weiss went on. "We could kick his ass there, and nobody will be the wiser."  
  
"Yeah, like Haladki is going to trust us when we invite him?"  
  
"We could always get Driscoll or Jeannie to do it," Weiss suggested. At Vaughn's thoughtful look, Weiss continued "What would you do without me?" and clinked his glass with Vaughn's.  
  
  
  
Sydney stared at the monitor in the front, and tried to pay attention to the mission objectives, as Sloane droned on. She was hard pressed to keep her eyes open, having flown all night to Mt. Sebacio, waiting two hours for the FBI extraction, and the flight back. Thankfully, her little sojourn had not been flagged by Security Section detail. Otherwise, she would again be clapped in irons, so to speak.  
  
"We think Ambassador Jafer not only know Khasinau, but is on his payroll. One of our undercover operatives, Wexler, has been his personal aide for the past two years. We've got him on film. Your mission is to go the masquerade ball held at the ambassador's residence, meet Wexler, and bring back the film," Sloane kept on.  
  
"You'll be dressed as.. who else.. Josephine," he smiled benignly at Sydney. "Marshall will go over all items needed for this mission. Dixon will be there to help you out, as usual."  
  
Sydney smiled at her partner, while everyone got up to leave the room. "Can I talk to you for a second," she asked Sloane, who stood back.  
  
"I'll see you at OP Tech," Dixon walked away.  
  
She turned back around to Sloane, who was waiting expectantly. She looked at her hands, trying to gather her strength. The last person she wanted help from was this damned excuse of man, but she was taught to use every vice possible to gain what you wanted.  
  
"You knew my mother, before she died," she looked up at Sloane, who had a puzzled look on his face, while he nodded to confirm her assumptions. "Can you help me learn more about her? I mean the real truth," she continued. Sloane held his penetrating gaze on Sydney.  
  
"Dad told me about Mom….. the truth, I mean. It wasn't easy for him. That's why I'm asking you. I want to know everything about her. Who she was before she became Laura Bristow.. what she did…. Can you help me," Sydney looked up at Sloane, and hoped that her look was as heartbreaking she hoped it was. She hoped he had a heart.  
  
Sloane walked up to her, gathered her hands in his, and squeezed gently.  
  
"I will get you everything I can on your mother. I promise." He squeezed her hands again, and Sydney kept her smile plastered on, until he walked out the room.  
  
  
  
Vaughn looked up when he heard the familiar footsteps, and moved to open the gate to their safe haven. Sydney walked inside with the sweetest smile that he almost believed that this was a dream. The image of a car barreling towards the ocean then plunging beneath its watery surface flickered into his brain, and he swallowed hard.  
  
"Hey, you're staring," Sydney said, still smiling at him.  
  
"Yeah," he croaked out, and cleared his throat. "It's good to see you."  
  
Sydney kept her gaze on him, and walked slowly to him. When she was close enough, she wrapped her arms around him and gently laid her head on his shoulders, breathing in his fragrance.  
  
"I'm here, and I'm real," she said squeezing gently. She felt his hands wrap around her, and pull her in closer. She snuggled her head, into the crevice of his shoulder ever further. She felt a drop of wetness on her shoulder, and held him harder. He released her, slightly pushing away, swiping at his eyes, and breathing in harshly.  
  
"Sorry. It's just when I saw.. saw the car.. I thought I'd never see you again," he flashed her a smile.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
He breathed in and out a few times before he spoke again. All the while, he held her hands in his, and Sydney marveled at the feelings of having this man hold her hand, as opposed to when Sloane had. She had wanted to pull away, had felt like she had leeches sucking her blood then. Now, she wanted to more than hold his hands.  
  
"What's my counter-mission?" she shook him slightly, playfully.  
  
" Your mission is actually an easy one," Vaughn quickly gathered himself, and smiled as Sydney rolled her eyes. "Just provide us with a copy of the film you get in Moscow, and give the original to SD-6," he pulled a out a small rectangular device. "This device can copy any image on a photo negative. You have to extreme close though. So on your flight back, go to the washroom, make the copy, and leave this inside the pocket of Seat 15C. That's it."  
  
"Ok. That IS an easy one," she said taking the device.  
  
"CIA wants SD-6 to have this information. As far as we can figure out, this is payback. Now all this Rambaldi thing was keeping us busy, Sloane had been busy trying to get the Alliance to go to war with Alexander Khasinau. That bug you planted in his house, worked beautifully. Your father reported that he left to Munich a day earlier than planned, and that he'd been confident that the vote would go his way. The day before he left he made a call to London, to Edward Poole. Do you know who that is?"  
  
"Yeah, one of the twelve members of the Alliance. Why was Sloane calling him?"  
  
"We don't know that. But two days later, the Montreal Gazette reported the murder of Jean Briault, and Sloane came home with Détente, instead of the outright vengeance of Khasinau."  
  
"So, Poole promised Sloane the vote, if he killed Briault, and then double crossed him," Sydney smiled at the thought of Sloane being manipulated.  
  
Let's see how he likes it….  
  
"That's what your father thinks," Vaughn smiled back.  
  
"Cool," Sydney smiled. "Hey, any plans yet to go to Barcelona?"  
  
"We're working on a scenario. The CIA would like you to go on this mission, since you're so familiar with Rambaldi artifacts. Another agent wouldn't know what they are looking for," he slanted a look at her. "The problem is doing it without getting SD-6 suspicious. We'll probably have a scenario worked out by the time you get back. Good luck."  
  
She leaned in to kiss him on the cheek quickly, and walked out. He stood there, watching her retreating figure. 


	13. Exposed

Jack sat in front of Slaone, briefing him on the activities for the past three days. He briskly, almost detached, went through the details, emotionless, while Sloane watched him intensely. He wondered what was going on behind the blank exterior of Sloane.  
  
"Good work Jack. Well, that's good," Sloane nodded his affirmation.  
  
"The Alliance is seeking détente. Very disappointing," Jack said.  
  
"Yes, it is. It's insulting that Khasinau could come in here, and hurt our people, and the alliance wants to be friends with them. Cowards," Sloane said bitterly.  
  
"What's our next move?"  
  
"We wait for Sydney to come back. She's a good daughter, isn't she?" he inquired quietly.  
  
Jack felt a tingle down his spine. "Yes, she is."  
  
"I hear you told her about Laura."  
  
"How'd you know that?"  
  
"She told me that you did. Must have been painful for you. She asked to learn more about her, her life with the KGB."  
  
"And you promised to help her, why?  
  
"Maybe if I had a daughter like Sydney, I would've learned to love something besides money," he sighed rubbing his eyes. Jack held back his surprised expression.  
  
"I am going to suggest that you take some time off, Jack. Clear your mind. It must've been difficult for you relive your past."  
  
"No, I'm ok. Sydney needs me," Jack refused, and stared back at Sloane, challenging his gaze.  
  
"I was going to show Sydney something, something about her mother. It's very painful Jack. I'd like to spare you the pain."  
  
"But, you'd submit Sydney to it?"  
  
"Sydney came to me for her help, Jack. I wouldn't want to willingly put you through any suffering."  
  
"If it's going to be painful, I'd like to be there for my daughter," Jack stated firmly. "Whatever you've got to show her, you can show me to."  
  
"Just remember that I warned you," Sloane said, snapping his file shut for emphasis.  
  
  
  
Francie opened the door to let Will enter, who was loaded down with junk food, and was enthusiastically waving a video in front of her face.  
  
"Lawrence of Arabia, classic!!" he said excitedly, dumping the stuff on the counter. "And for your viewing pleasure, 'Never Been Kissed'."  
  
"Thank you. We're watching that first," Francie ordered as she moved to remove the popcorn from the stove before it burned.  
  
"No, we are not. You'll watch your movie, and then fall asleep when my choice comes on," he complained. He craned his neck to look around the place, and Francie smiled to herself.  
  
"Stop looking. Sydney's on another one of her missions for the bank."  
  
Will snapped back to Francie with a sheepish look. "I can't help it."  
  
"You should just ask her out, and get it over with."  
  
She should just tell you about the mystery man….  
  
"I can't do that. She's my friend. What if she said 'no'. It'd be awkward afterwards."  
  
"So what, you're going to hope she gets drunk and kisses you again?" Francie nailed him with a stern look.  
  
Will couldn't look at Francie, and looked down at his hand. "Hey, don't kill me for saying this… but Sydney's been working too hard, don't you think? Is it Danny? You know bury yourself in work thing?"  
  
Francie thought back to her conversation with Sydney regarding a mystery man that she was interested in. She honestly didn't think Sydney was trying to work herself to death so that she could forget Danny.  
  
"No, I just think it's Sydney. She's a hardworker," Francie shrugged her shoulder, emptying the popcorn to a bowl. She opened the trashcan to throw the foil out, and noticed a ticket stub.  
  
"You know, we should save all these ticket stubs, and make like a collage for Sydney's birthday next time," she teased waving the ticket around.  
  
Will grabbed it away from her, partly because it was annoying. "She'd appreciate that."  
  
He looked down at the ticket, smiling at the thought of presenting Sydney with a collage and the expression on his face. He was so into his reverie, it took him a few seconds to register what he was seeing. His gaze was still on the ticket when he asked "Hey, where did Sydney she was going last time, before we went to the cottage?"  
  
"Boston, I think. Why?" Francie asked popping some popcorn in her mouth.  
  
"Because this is a ticket stub for Prague," Will said giving it to Francie for verification.  
  
"That can't be right," she looked at the ticket and then looked up at Will. "Why would Sydney lie to us?"  
  
He just shrugged, and stuffed his mouth with popcorn. 


	14. Truth, Lies & Videotape

Sydney stared, transfixed at the monitor before her. The hand that she used to clamp her mouth may have stifled her sobs, but it didn't prevent the tears from flowing freely down her face. The woman on the monitor was barely moving anymore, though occasionally she moaned. Khasinau stood above her, wiping his mouth with a bloody knuckle, panting.  
  
"Turn it off," her voice was barely audible as she looked at Sloane. "JUST TURN IT OFF," she screamed at him again, before running out the door, passing a stunned and concerned Dixon. Sloane's gaze followed her exit to the door and watched as she disappeared down the hall, before he turned his gaze to a stunned Jack, sitting quietly. Sloane clicked the remote, turning off the monitor in front of him, snapping Jack's attention away from the monitor, the woman on the screen, to him.  
  
"Jack, go to Sydney," Sloane said. "She need you now. It would be good for both of you."  
  
"I'd like to …" Jack cleared his throat. "I'd like to watch the rest of it, please," he pleaded with Sloane.  
  
Sloane handed the remote to Jack, put his hand on Jack's shoulder to squeeze it gently, before walking out the boardroom. He walked into his office, closing the door behind him, and sat down on his chair. He picked up the phone and began dialing.  
  
"David, it's Arvin. Good job on the tape. Very compelling stuff," he hung up the phone, steepled his hands, and rested his chin on it, smiling with satisfaction.  
  
  
  
Sydney barely made it to the washroom, before she heaved the contents in her stomach. She couldn't contain her sobs as she retched what little plane food was left in her stomach, heaving dryly in the end. She flushed the toilet, wiping her mouth, sat back on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.  
  
When the sobbing subsided, she got up shakily, to walk out of the stall. She splashed her face with cold water, and used the paper towel to pat her face dry. She drew in a shaky breath and exhaled out. Her reflection on the mirror had blood shot eyes and a red nose. She stood there, staring at her image, drawing in breath after breath, hands clenched tightly on the sink.  
  
Pull yourself together Sydney….  
  
The knock on the door , and Dixon's concerned voice came through the partially opened door. Drawing in one long deep breath, she walked out the door. Dixon was waiting on the outside, pacing nervously, concern etched all over his face.  
  
"Syd, are you ok? I just heard," Dixon spoke first.  
  
Sydney's eyes filled with tears again, and she swiped at it angrily, nodding tremulously.  
  
" Can you tell Sloane that I took off. I need sometime," she got out through tears.  
  
"He asked me to make sure you went home, Syd. He's worried about you. So am I," Dixon said. "He wanted you and your father to take a few days off. Jack left a few minutes ago, kiddo," Dixon smiled gently. "You two should be together."  
  
Sydney nodded her head slightly, and took a deep breath in. She walked to her cubicle to collect her things, Dixon behind her. She started to throw things in her purse, pausing briefly at her cellphone.  
  
"Call him, Syd. And, go to be with him," Dixon urged her gently. Sydney whipped her head around at Dixon. "Your father would really appreciate that."  
  
1 He was talking about Dad… Not Vaughn…  
  
"And, when you get back, we're taking the SOB down," Dixon stated firmly.  
  
  
  
Vaughn walked to his office, balancing his briefcase in one hand, coffee in the other, and his coat slung over one arm. He smiled slightly to himself, remembering the hockey game the day before. Haladki had no idea what he'd bargained for. He made a mental note to put in a request for a raise for his assistant, Jeannie.  
  
He chuckled to himself as he dropped the briefcase on his desk, and draped the coat over the back of his chair. Haladki's expression when he realized that he'd been set up for was priceless. The weasel had tried to sit out the game at that point. Driscoll had been smooth, baiting him back to the ice for more punishment. Both Driscoll and Weiss made sure that Haladki had the puck most of the time, with Vaughn covering him. It had been sweet to mush his face in to the Plexiglas, over and over.  
  
"Feel better?" Weiss asked, walking into his office. "Here's the transcripts from last week for Sloane's house. Not much going on since he was away. One interesting call a couple of days ago about some tape though," Weiss filled in taking a bite out of his croissant.  
  
"What tape?" Vaughn asked, accepting the transcripts and reading the highlighted portions himself.  
  
"Don't know. He wanted a tape doctored. Doesn't go into specific. Hey, maybe you can ask Jack. He's with Barnett."  
  
"Jack's with Barnett. Why?"  
  
"Ask Crechtmer. He arranged it," Weiss shrugged as he walked out the door.  
  
  
  
Sydney walked into her living room, tossing her things on the couch, before collapsing on it. She had tried her father's phone a few times, but she kept getting his machine. She had finally left a message to call her back.  
  
She debated calling Vaughn. Her first instinct, as always, was to run to her handler, her confidant. But this time, she didn't know how she could. How could she talk to him about all the pain of seeing her mother being broken down, when it was she who was responsible for his fathers death? He didn't even know that she had concluded that she was alive, unless her father had said something, which she doubted.  
  
She cried harder as the images of her mother begging to let her live with her family filtered into her mind. She had cared for them. She wasn't the cruel and calculating woman Sydney had thought she was. This job, this business of espionage, had cost her family everything, taken away more people from their lives.  
  
The sound of footsteps brought her head up, wiping away the tears. She turned around to see Will, approaching hesitantly, intently.  
  
"Your door was open. I figured you were home," he smiled sheepishly. He frowned noticing the red eyes and the other evidence that she'd been crying.  
  
"Syd, are you ok?" he asked gently.  
  
"Yeah, yeah…." Sydney smiled at him bravely. "Just thought of Danny.. and just couldn't stop, you know.."  
  
Will was strangely quiet and thoughtful. He kept his gaze on her, studying her face intently.  
  
"If I said SD-6, that would mean something to you, wouldn't it?" he asked in a very low voice. Sydney's eyes widened at the mention of SD-6. "We, Francie and I, found this ticket stub…..it said Prague.." Will continued.  
  
"You have to stop talking now Will," Sydney ordered authoritatively.  
  
"No, Syd. I think you should tell me what's going on," he continued on stubbornly.  
  
Sydney closed the distance between them quickly, covering his mouth with one hand, and wrapping her other behind his head. She mouthed to him, not here.  
  
Before Will could do anything, the phone began ringing. Both Will and Sydney looked at each other in alarm. She removed her hands and made her way to the phone, picking it up.  
  
"Joey's pizza," the voice on the other end said. Sydney breathed out, automatically responding back to the call, and hung up the phone.  
  
She picked up her purse, tilted her towards the door to Will. She walked out first, scanning both sides, then locking the door after Will had come outside.  
  
"Where are we going?" Will asked.  
  
"Somewhere we can talk," Sydney replied. 


	15. Blown Away

Vaughn paced the length of the cage anxiously. He couldn't wait to see Sydney, to tell her that what she'd seen wasn't real. It was all part Sloane's twisted mind, wreaking havoc for his own purpose. Just the thought of Sydney in pain made him want to walk into Sloane's office, and pull the trigger.  
  
What kind of a monster is he?  
  
Vaughn looked up when he heard the soft sounds of a heels clicking. He walked over to open the cage, scanning her face in concern.  
  
"Sydney, are you alright?" he said. Sydney bobbed her head in agreement, and looked behind her, drawing Vaughn's attention to the unwelcomed guest in their secret location.  
  
"What the HELL is he doing here?" Vaughn got out, totally surprised to see Will Tippin standing behind Sydney.  
  
"That was going to be my question too," Will piped in, looking at Sydney for an explanation.  
  
Who was this guy????  
  
"Vaughn, you need to arrange for Will to go into Protective Custody," Sydney stated simply.  
  
"WHAT???" both men got their question out.  
  
"I don't know how, but Will knows about SD-6. If he knows about them, then they know about him too," Sydney said to Vaughn. "How did you find out about SD-6, Will?" she turned her question to him.  
  
"First of all, who is this guy? And how are you involved with SD-6, Syd?" Will fired questions of his own, true to his nature.  
  
Sydney took a long breath, staring at Vaughn. He gave her his lopsided smile, leaving the decision up to her. She took a long breath before briefly describing her job at SD-6 and her double agent status to Will, absorbing his shock with every word she uttered. She ended her little monologue with an introduction of Vaughn as her handler, ignoring Vaughn's probing stare at being called "her handler" only.  
  
Sydney felt oddly relieved finally being able to tell one of her friends the truth, but looking at Will once she was done, she could tell this wasn't what he had in mind at all.  
  
"All this time," Will cleared his throat and continued on. "All this time, I thought Danny had gotten you into something, something you shouldn't be in, when it was you," he accused. "Your secret is what got Danny killed. Now, I'm going to be next. Syd, how could you do this?"  
  
"Wait a minute. Wait just a sec. I asked you to drop this story, Will. You should've listened," Sydney countered back.  
  
"I think it's your turn," Vaughn, who'd been quietly listening, spoke up, startling both Will and Sydney.  
  
Will glared at Vaughn for reminding him that he'd have to confess how he knew about SD-6. He turned his gaze to Sydney to find she was waiting patiently, her make-up still a mess from her cry session earlier. He frowned slightly at the thought of Sydney crying, and started to tell her how he found out about Kate Jones, and how that led him to David McNeil.  
  
"We found a ticket stub, Syd. Francie and I. I didn't want to make too much of it in front of her. But I went to your room, and I know.. I know that's wrong, but I did. I looked at your travel case, and guess what! Here I was.. looking for her.. and she's been my friend all along," Will bit out.  
  
"That's enough," Vaughn warned standing between them.  
  
Jeez, Sydney didn't need this on top of it all….  
  
Sydney did indeed look like she'd been punched. She was barely holding on, and was grateful for Vaughn to stop Will's tirade. And to give Will credit, he did stop, but he continued glaring his accusations at her. His eyes spoke volumes as to his anger and betrayal, and she turned away, not able to look at him anymore, holding back her sobs.  
  
"Why didn't you stop when I asked you to, Will?" she asked softly. "You should've left it alone."  
  
Vaughn wanted to take her into his arms and hold her, comfort her, but he was reluctant to do so in front of Will, especially after she just introduced him as her handler only.  
  
"Sydney, I asked you to meet me here for a reason… The tape that you saw today.. Sloane altered it so that you'll see what you were supposed to," he carefully got the words out, hoping against hope this will at least brighten her day.  
  
Sydney turned around, shocked to her. "He.. he altered it? That wasn't my mother?"  
  
"We don't what was in the real tape, but we do know that Sloane placed a call from home, to someone and wanted to know if it was done. Sydney, I'm sorry you had to go through it," Vaughn took a step towards her.  
  
1 Damn Will…  
  
Sydney's eyes filled with tears as she turned around and punched the crate that she'd been standing next to. Will jerked back, startled and surprised, while Vaughn stood there and watched her as she pummeled the crate again and again, a raw scream coming out of her throat. When he saw how bloody her knuckles were becoming, he stepped behind her, hugging her tightly across her chest, trapping her arms, and dropped his mouth to her ears, whispering softly "It's alright. It's ok."  
  
Sydney stopped struggling, bringing her arms to hold his hands at her chest, dropped her head back, and let out a loud anguished scream. She dropped her head forward and continued to sob. Vaughn turned her around so that he could hold her comfortably, and let her sob into his neck. He kissed her forehead slightly, and his blinked his eyes rapidly to clear the mists that were forming.  
  
Will stood silently watching this man holding Sydney, and it hit him like lightning that he hadn't been paying attention. Sydney had a life that he hadn't known, wasn't a part of, but this man had been. The familiar way he held her, knowing when to step in, the way he comforted her, told him that they were more than friends. It hurt him to think that Sydney had unabashedly shared all parts of her life with this man, and hidden it from him, Will Tippin, when he'd been willing to share everything with her.  
  
It was a long time before Sydney's sobs quieted down, and she hiccuped softly, trying to draw in breath, to nourish her starved lungs. Vaughn pushed her out of his embrace slightly, and looked at her.  
  
"I'm going to call your dad, to meet you at your place. Think you can make it there?" he asked, caressing her cheek with his hand. When she nodded, he continued, "I'm going to take your friend here to the office to debrief and go over next steps. Sydney, go with your dad to the cottage at Lake Arrowhead. I'll meet you there." God, he hated having to put all of this on her right now, but it had to be done.  
  
She looked up quizzically at him. "What do you mean?"  
  
"We're gonna use Sloane's forced vacation on you, to go to Barcelona. I'll brief you at Arrowhead." He pulled her back in to his embrace, and dropped his chin on top of her head.  
  
"We've got a lot to do, Sydney." 


	16. Clues

Will sat nervously in the cold room, occasionally rubbing his hands on his thighs. Vaughn had brought him to this room, and asked to write down everything he knew, and then he'd been left alone. It had taken him a couple of hours to get through all the details. Of course, having to write the statement manually had been the biggest pain. He was used to typing things out on his processor.  
  
Behind the Plexiglas, Vaughn stood with Weiss, Will's statement in his hands, his brow wrinkled in thought.  
  
"Look on the bright side. At least this one's not too long," Weiss said.  
  
"Yeah," Vaughn sighed heavily. "Can you wait in my office? I'll bring him there," Vaughn waited until Weiss left the room, headed towards his office then entered the interrogation room. Will looked up at him, and Vaughn simply indicated to him to follow him, leading him towards his office.  
  
"I think you've already met Eric Weiss," he said as he walked into his office, Will following behind.  
  
"You're… you're the guy at Arrowhead. We met last week. Was I under surveillance?" Will asked looking between Vaughn and Weiss.  
  
"No. I was supposed to make friends with you. Make it easier on Sydney when she needs help," Weiss answered.  
  
Will could only nod, dumbfounded. Vaughn cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention.  
  
"Do you have your notes of your conversation with David McNeil? And the list of the companies that use his software?" Vaughn asked.  
  
"Yeah, they are in my drawer at work," Will replied, looking down at his hands. "I couldn't get rid of them, even after being threatened. I guess I wanted someone to find it, and go after the truth or some shit like that," he scratched his jaw, smiling.  
  
Vaughn returned his smile. "We'll send someone to retrieve those notes from your desk. Agent Weiss is going to brief you on your custody detail. We will put you in a hotel for the night, with an agent there for your protection."  
  
"Actually, I'd like to go home," Will stated simply, leaving Weiss to shake his head, and Vaughn to look up.  
  
"I don't think that'll be advisable. If you're worried about change of clothes, we can take care of that," Vaughn said.  
  
"No, that's not what I meant," Will said more forcefully this time. He exhaled out, pushing air through his teeth. "I mean, I'm not going into protective custody. I'm not hiding from these bastards, not when Sydney is out there risking her life."  
  
"She can't do what she has to if she has to worry about you," Vaughn interjected.  
  
"Not to mention the fact that you could get killed," Weiss spoke up quietly.  
  
"I know.. I know. I was there when they beat the crap out of me, and threatened my family. I'm not hiding. If something happens, then I'll come to you, but not right now. I want to be there for Sydney, a friend on the outside," he looked at Vaughn intently.  
  
Vaughn stared at Will a while before he nodded, closing the file. "If that's what you want." He pulled out a card, and gave it to Will. "Memorize this number. If you spot anything out of the ordinary, anything at all, call this number."  
  
Will took the card, and looked at the number, mouthing the numbers silently, before putting it in his wallet.  
  
"I'll arrange safe transport out of here for him," Weiss said, standing up, waiting for Will to join him.  
  
Will stood up and walked to the door with Weiss, but stopped short of leaving. "I need to speak to him for a moment please," he said to Weiss. Weiss nodded leaving the office, and closing the door, but standing outside while talking on the phone. Vaughn looked expectantly at Will.  
  
"When you see Sydney, can you tell her that I'm sorry for being jerk at the warehouse, please?" he asked. Vaughn silently nodded, and smiling gently at Will. "And, if you love her, tell her now, before it's too late," Will smiled back at Vaughn.  
  
"Speaking from experience?" Vaughn inquired gently. Will just shrugged his shoulder, opening his palms up, before leaving the room. Vaughn sat there, in his big leather chair, staring after the man who'd just left his office.  
  
  
  
Weiss knocked on Vaughn's office before entering. He looked from the file he'd been reading.  
  
"Will Tippin is on his way home," Weiss said. "What do you think, about his statement?"  
  
"He connected Alain Christophe to a bunch of companies here," Vaughn said. "He only had a chance to investigate 18 of the 42 companies that uses this encryption software. I bet if we look at the Board of Directors of the other companies, we may be able to identify a few more members of the Alliance."  
  
"So, we have Edward Poole, Jean Briault, and Alain Christophe. Nine more to go, and some 30 companies that we know of to search through. Needle in hay stack, my friend," Weiss sighed.  
  
"Yeah, I know," Vaughn sighed. "I wonder whose been giving him the tips though. Cross check to see if any of these members have been in the same city together in the past year. Maybe that'll narrow it down a little. And, oh… oh.. check if anyone's been to Sao Paulo when UCO conference was going on," Vaughn gave out his list of tasks, as he picked up his coat, shrugging into it.  
  
"Arrowhead bound?" Weiss asked. "Good luck."  
  
  
  
Jack Bristow stood outside on the porch, wrapping his arms around him tighter to keep the chilly air at bay. He liked coming here. It was peaceful and quiet, the lake shimmering in the distance, the air caressing his cheeks. They had come here many times as a family, before he knew the truth. Before he found out that he still couldn't hate the woman who had betrayed him, lied to him, used him, even when he knew what she had done.  
  
1 Laura…  
  
She had been confident and beautiful, coy and intelligent. He couldn't have resisted even if he'd tried. The truth is he was enchanted the minute he'd laid eyes on her, laughing and sipping champagne. He'd abided his time, waiting for the right moment to approach her. He wondered would he have approached her at all, had he known that it was all designed to capture his attention.  
  
Jack sighed heavily, scanning the horizon. Sydney had been quiet on the way over, and he hadn't been able to phrase all the emotions churning through him. As usual, he'd shut down and focused on the task at hand: getting to this cottage, this place of haunted memories.  
  
The sound of gravel crunching under rolling tires had Jack scanning the horizon. He looked down at the loaded weapon carefully hidden under a magazine on the table, and sat impassively, waiting patiently. He relaxed once he spotted the familiar dark sedan, still waiting.  
  
Vaughn got out of the vehicle, went to his trunk, and grabbed two heavy bags before walking up the steps to the porch. "Is Sydney ok?" he asked.  
  
"She's inside," Jack got up from his chair, pulled the magazine away, took the gun and tucked it in his back.  
  
Vaughn raised his eyebrows slightly at the gun, but followed Jack inside, dropping the bags beside the couch in the living room. Sydney sat curled in one of the single chairs, freshly scrubbed from a bath, a foaming cup of coffee in her hands. The haunted look, however was still in place.  
  
"How is Will?" she asked immediately.  
  
"He's fine." Vaughn chose to lie to her, not wanting to tell her that he had chosen to be out on his own. He caught Jack's look, and gently shook his head, but otherwise he chose not to elaborate. "Sydney, we need to focus right now. Are you good to go?"  
  
She took a deep breath and exhaled out. "I've been sitting here, thinking about a lot of things. Sloane's been playing with my life, twisting and turning it to his fancy," she paused for a brief second, thinking of Noah at the Masquerade ball. "I am sick of it. I am done with his manipulations. I want this over Vaughn. Soon."  
  
Vaughn listened to her carefully, without interruption. "Can you focus?" he repeated.  
  
She raised her eyes quickly, locking her gaze with his, silently answering his challenge. "Yeah, I'm ready."  
  
"Jack, will Sloane wonder about you two visiting this place often?" Vaughn asked Jack.  
  
"I booked us on a flight to Switzerland. Sloane won't be looking for us here. We're safe for the moment."  
  
"Good. There is a jet waiting for us about two hours from here. It'll get us to Barcelona, and pick us up at a pre-arranged time. If for whatever reason, we miss it, they won't be back for us for another 10 hours, so we have to make sure everything goes according to plan," Vaughn explained.  
  
"We'll leave as soon as the sun sets," Jack said. "Minimize the chances of anyone trying to follow us."  
  
"What are we going to do with Rambaldi's device when we find it?" Sydney asked.  
  
"Our orders are to destroy it," Vaughn replied relieved that finally Sydney was showing some interest in the mission. "The CIA feels this weapon, whatever it is.. is too powerful. Too destructive."  
  
Sydney nodded her head, her eyes showing her steely reserve. 


	17. Revelation

**Note: If anybody from Barcelona is reading this chapter, please do not be upset if I describe anything wrong. I have never been to Barcelona, hence never been to The temple of La Sagrada Familia. For the purpose of this chapter, I searched for some information on the net, and am using certain facts with a fairly wide use of my imagination to tell this story. The construction of the temple did begin in 1881 with the backing of Associa Espritual de Devots de Sant Josep, and the chief architect was Antonio Gaudi who is buried in one of the chapels. Everything else comes from my crazy imagination. I would love to visit the place one-day though. Have to learn to speak Spanish first ( **  
  
  
  
The temple of La Sagrada Familia, loomed before them in all its glory, though muted slightly by the dark. In daylight, the structure was a magnificent sight to behold, with it's large columns, wonderful art, and giant windows where the sun filtered through, setting fire to everything it touched with brilliant colors.  
  
The trio made their way over, crossing the street to the service door. Vaughn and Jack stood guard, looking around casually, while Sydney worked on picking the lock on the door.  
  
"When did you say this was built?" Sydney made casual conversation, while working the lock, her face a mask of concentration.  
  
"Well, the construction began in 1881, I think," Vaughn wrinkled his forehead. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"Because they haven't changed the lock since then," Sydney replied, accompanied by the sound of click. "We're in."  
  
Sydney moved in quietly, ahead of the men, glancing behind her to make sure that they were following. She hid behind one of the huge columns, and peeked out, making sure that there were no guards. Vaughn had guaranteed that there were no security systems or guards, but Sydney was doubtful, and wanted to be cautious. After all, a weapon that can rain down destruction was somewhere beneath this huge structure. Once she was sure there was no one around, she cautiously made her way to Apse, hiding behind pillars occasionally, raising her closed fist, asking the others to stay where they are, and waving them onwards, when she was sure there was no sign of danger.  
  
The Apse, with some chapels (seven to be precise) at the bottom of the two winding staircases and a deambulatory around the presbytery, was a massive space, adorned with magnificent sculptures and giant windows. Once Sydney reached her destination, she stopped, waiting for the others to catch up to her. Vaughn joined her, pulling out an old map, and trying to determine which way to go.  
  
"There they are, the chapels. We have to find the chapel where Antoni Gaudi is buried. The chapel of Virgin of Carmen," Vaughn said, his eyes glued to the map he held in his hand.  
  
"He's the architect of this church?" Jack asked.  
  
"Yes. He requested to be buried in the original chapel that the Associa Espritual de Devots de Sant Josep built over," Vaughn recounted the history once more. "He was fascinated with the history of Duke Sperello, and wanted to be buried in what was left of the Duke's estate."  
  
"Ok professor," Sydney replied back, her dimple firmly in place. Jack hid his amusement by pretending to clear his throat, leaving Vaughn blushing furiously. "I'll take the last two crypts," with that she headed down the steps.  
  
They worked quietly, briskly, reading the inscription as fast as they could, using their flashlights. In the end, it was Jack who found the correct chapel, but they were still left to figure out how to get to the underground tunnels, shown in the map that Vaughn possessed of the original castle.  
  
"Was this chapel the only thing that survived from the original castle?" Jack asked.  
  
"No, the keystone with the Annunciation of Mary belongs to the castle of Sperello," Vaughn replied.  
  
The three made their way out towards the keystone, Jack pointing his flashlight at the base, searching for a trigger.  
  
"It could be that cross on top," Sydney said. "Maybe you're supposed to push it down." With Vaughn holding her up, she tried to push the cross down with out any success. Vaughn looking up at Sydney's attempt said, "Sydney, does the cross have something in the middle?"  
  
Sydney shone her flashlight at the cross. "Yeah, there is a prism in the middle I think."  
  
"Shine the light through the prism," Vaughn struggled to get the words out, while holding Sydney up. Jack quickly made his way over, and helped Vaughn hoist Sydney up so that she could shine the light through in a straight line.  
  
The light refracted through the prism, spraying a rainbow on the wall on the front of the chapel where Antonio Gaudi was buried, while a clear light shinning brightly on one of the stones of the door jam.  
  
Sydney jumped down, and went over to the stone, pushing it in. From inside the chapel, a loud rumbling noise resonated through the church. Sharing a look between them, Sydney made her way inside once again with Jack bringing up the rear, shining the flashlight into the dark crevices to assure himself one last time.  
  
  
  
Marshall opened the door to his apartment, and walked in, dropping his keys on the coffee table. He sighed heavily, before turning on floor lamp.  
  
"On Alisha," he spoke, and whirring sounds of a computer coming on resonated through the quiet apartment.  
  
"Hello Marshall," a metallic, yet distinctly female voice came from his computer. "How was your day today?"  
  
"It was fine. Fine, thank you, Alisha. Has Tippin accessed anymore information on OT Technologies or the encryption software."  
  
"No, Marshall. Shall I initiate another phone call?" Alisha asked.  
  
Marshall bit his nail, walking over to the table and looking down at the framed picture. It was taken almost two years ago, at a Christmas party. He had been surprised when she invited him, and he'd attended, toting a custom made pin for her.  
  
1 Eloise…  
  
He'd explained the use of the pin to her, and she had smiled prettily at him, and kissed his cheek. She thought it was sweet that he'd cared about her to design a pin, with built in microchip to record conversation. What he didn't tell her was that it could also be activated to be used as bug; his own selfishness.  
  
"Marshall, shall initiate another phone call to Will Tippin?" Alisha broke through his reverie.  
  
He glanced at his computer, his brilliant design that he hadn't shared with SD-6. If it weren't Eloise Kurtz being assassinated, he would have. Her death had brought new knowledge, new insight to a hideous organization for which he toiled for. He owed it to her.  
  
"Yes Alisha. Initiate a call to his work tomorrow at 10:49am," Marshall said. 


End file.
